Truth
by Pharos
Summary: Two years after the war and Duo is on his own, hiding from a truth that sets him apart from all the other pilots. But how far can he truly run before the truth catches up to him? R&R Please! Rated for future chapters. Completed! Hope you like it!
1. Chapter 1

**Truth**

Disclaimer: I don't own the Gundam Wing Characters so please don't sue me for borrowing them . . .

_Truth._ It's such an overrated word. Humans could never trust truth because they could never believe in honesty. And where does the truth lie then with honesty as its mate? No, truth and honesty are highly overrated. The truth is nothing more then words shrouded in deceit, the only thing that is believable in this life is that the Truth is never what you expect it to be.

Warm water cascaded down his naked form as he stood beneath the stream with his hands pressing against the cool tiled walls of the shower stall. His long chestnut brown hair clung to his buttocks as he stared down at the flow of blood and water disappearing down the drain. Pulses of pain rocked through his body with even the slightest movement, making the simple act of standing seem painful. Slowly, he took a deep breath as he watched the blood disappear wishing that the pain would go with it. It was a constant pain like nothing he'd ever experienced before not even during the war.

Duo sighed, giving a vicious twist of the valve to shut off the flow of water, almost instantly the cold air rushed in around him causing gooseflesh to rise from the nearly flawless white skin. Pushing himself upright, Duo pushed back the shower curtain and stepped out of the bath grimacing in pain. He reached up to grab one of the towels from the rack and rubbed himself dry, paying particular attention to his legs. _Did it have to hurt so much?_ Duo shoved the depressing thought out of his head, tossing the now bloody towel into the hamper. He pulled down a second one and wrapped it around his waist, taking a third towel he put it over his still dripping hair and stepped out of the bathroom.

The tacky green wallpaper decorating his current hotel room was less then pleasant to say the least, but he could deal with it for the time being, after all he'd been in worse rooms then this one over the past two years. Duo sighed as he moved towards the single foldout bed resting in the middle of the room, he glanced at his clothes folded neatly in the only chair the room had and shook his head. Dark red blood stained the front of his clothes, he would have to throw them away and get new ones but that was another problem he'd prefer not to address right about now. Pain pulsed through him, reminding him of his current, _pressing_ issue. His ruined clothes were just one thing he had to deal with right about now. Duo reached for the plastic bag he had thrown onto the bed and dumped the contents out, shuffling through the aftershave, the razors, and the bottles of water to get the box of pills hidden beneath it all. The store attendant had given him a funny look when he'd seen this among Duo's groceries but the look on Duo's face told the man it would be smarter not to ask.

He ripped open the box, popped out one of the pills, tossed it into his mouth and swallowed without a second thought. Duo shut his eyes and prayed to whatever God would listen for the pain to go away. Shoving everything off the bed he threw himself into the soft sheets, curling up around the source of his pain as tears rolled down his face. Loneliness closed in around him, encompassing him in its all too familiar grip. Two years ago he would have laughed this all away, clapped his hands around the shoulders of his comrades and pretended it never existed. It had all been so much easier during the war, with so many reasons for him not to be sad or lonely. With so much to worry about and do that he could ignore the problems of his past.

_It's not like that now . . . ._ No, now he had to deal with this loneliness all on his own without anyone to help carry him through it. It was the path he'd chosen after the war, the only option left open to him after years of running and hiding. What his comrades knew and what he knew had simply come between them, he'd pushed them away and not once has he looked back to see if they were still there. It wouldn't matter . . . not to him or to them, what he'd done was unforgivable but it was better then the truth. His whole life was one great big lie, and yet he had lived with the knowledge that he would never willingly tell a lie to anyone.

_It's all about the questions._ It was simple to dodge a question, twist the truth to suit your needs . . . but all that eventually caught up with you, just like it caught up to him. In the end . . . there was no such thing as truth. Trust was just another word that one could bend to his or her own will depending on how you did it, for a year he'd lived a lie . . . praying on the trust of those closest to him. Now . . . well now everything was different. After all that running he'd done to get away from the past, it had all finally caught up with him. _Where's a war when you need one?_

**Colony L-2**

"No, I'm sorry he hasn't come into work yet can I take a -."

The sound of the dial tone coming from the phone made Hilde sigh in frustration as she slammed the phone down on the receiver. She leaned foreword placing her hands flat against the desk as she glared at the phone as if daring it to ring one more time so she could release all this anger. _One whole week, that dumb ass hasn't showed up in one week and already the business is beginning to go haywire!_ She sighed running her fingers through her short-cropped hair as if she could easily settle the frustration building up inside her. Normally, Duo didn't show up for one week out of the month, and during that week everything usually manages to go to the dogs in a short amount of time.

She couldn't remember the last time Duo had even called to check if things were going okay or not. For a man who'd dedicated his life to ending the war to bring the smiles back to the people of the colony, he sure had a knack for leaving angry frowns in his wake. After the war had ended, it seemed as if the former pilot had just . . . pushed everything away. She could still remember the words he'd said to her right before he'd walked out of her life. _"What's the point of having a whining sniveling chick like you at my side? I've done just fine on my own before you and I'll do even better on my own without you."_ The words had stung, deeply but not as badly as what he had said to the others.

It was as if Duo had become a whole new person, he wasn't the caring, smiling, joking Duo they'd all come to know and expect. When he'd spoken those words he'd really and truly meant every one of them and that was what had hurt the most. The sickly way he had smiled at all of them before telling them that in no uncertain terms was he lying about what he'd just told them. _"Why should I care to lie to you anymore? I figured since the wars over and everything, I don't have to put up with you bastards anymore. I'd like to say it was nice knowing all of you but . . . ."_ No, those words had hurt so much more then any of them had let on; even Heero had flinched from what Duo had said. Yet despite everything he had said Hilde still showed up at the shop to do the job she'd been hired to do.

The next day she'd showed up like she did everyday with a determined look on her face, she had meant to ask him what he was doing but the words had frozen in her throat when she saw him sitting on top of a pile of scrap metal staring out at the colony with a strange look in his eyes. He looked so lonely, and lost that it hurt even more then his words. He'd look down at her with a blank look on his face a moment later.

_"What are you doing here?" Duo asked calmly. Getting to his feet he brushed the dirt from his pants and leapt off the pile to land at her feet with feline grace. Hilde took a step back, her hands coming up to her chest as she looked at him searching for any sign that he regretted the words he'd said to her last night but his eyes remained cold. The warmth she had seen a moment ago gone, perhaps forever._

_"I still work here you know." Hilde replied shakily._

_"Really? I guess I forgot to fire you then." Duo replied shrugging his shoulders as he moved past her, shoving his hands into his pockets. The icy chill in his eyes made her shiver as she stood there listening to the sound of his retreating footsteps._

Hilde remembered the look in his eyes, the contrasting pain that had appeared in that one unguarded moment before Duo had walked away from her. The phone rang suddenly as she picked it up with an angry huff.

"HE'S NOT HERE DAMN IT SO STOP CALLING!" She shouted as her frustration overflowed.

"Hilde?" The sound of Duo's voice on the other end of the line made her slapped a hand to her mouth in embarrassment.

"Duo? Where in the hell are you?! Do you know what I've been going through this past week and a half?!" Hilde replied angrily.

"Yeah, sorry bout that but something came up. Do you mind holding out for another few days or so?"

Hilde sighed rubbing her forehead and the headache that was already starting to form between her eyes. "No, I can't possibly do this for that long without you here to sign -."

"Yeah, okay thanks a bunch Hilde. I'll see you next week kay?"

"Wait Duo-!" The dial tone beeping from the other line made sigh; clinching her fist around the phone handle she slowly placed it back down on the receiver. "You bastard . . . what the hell could you be doing that's so god damned important?"

Raindrops fell against the windowpanes of his twelve o'clock Psychology class, his chin resting in the palm of his hand as he stared out the window at the dreary afternoon sky. _I'm bored._ He stared at the head of the class where the teacher continued to speak in a monotone voice. _I'm really bored._ He sighed turning his head to stare out the window, the heavy rain pounded against the glass the way it had for the past two weeks. _Earth's climate really is unpredictable, but I suppose it's much more interesting to stay here then in the colonies._ His eyes traveled down to gaze at the courtyard, centering on a dark figure standing in the middle of the circular meeting place.

"Mister Yuy, is there a problem?" The sound of his teacher's voice cut through him like a knife.

Heero blinked staring down at the teacher realizing for the first time that he standing, the sound of his chair sliding backwards had woken the entire class from the mundane sound of the teachers' voice. Sighing inwardly, Heero shook his head shoving his hands into his pockets, his gaze traveling towards the window and the courtyard below.

"I just don't care for things like this." He whispered moving towards the exit behind him.

"Mister Yuy, if you leave I will have to mark you absent." The threat went unheeded as Heero shut the door behind him.

_What am I doing?_ The odd thought passed through his mind as he made his way through the halls and down the stairs until he came to the exit. He stood in the doorway staring out at the pouring rain and the dark figure standing in the middle of the courtyard. _What are you doing here?_ Heero stepped out into the downpour, his dark brown hair plastered to his face as the raindrops pelted him. _How long?_ He moved closer until he was standing in front of the other person. _How long has it been since the last time I saw you?_

"Duo . . . ." The name whispered past his lips as he stared into the deep cobalt blue eyes of his former friend and comrade.

_Why am I here?_ The thought had occurred to him on his way from the spaceport all the way out here but he still did not know the reason for it all. Although he had to admit, Heero's apartment looked a hell of a lot better then the places he'd been staying in. The kitchen tiles matched everything else, and the plan white walls were much better then the tacky green he'd been seeing lately.

"Here." The sound of Heero's voice brought him out of his silent contemplation; Duo looked up to see the former pilot holding out a towel for him. "You're leaking all over the floor and my roommate won't like that." Duo shrugged taking the towel from Heero to dry off his hair.

"You have a roommate?" Duo questioned watching the slender pilot move away from him. He had always seen Heero as the . . . well loner type. Then again who was he to judge? After all, his life was nothing more then a fabricated lie designed to ensure that he would be remembered.   
Besides Duo wasn't even his real name.

"He keeps to himself mostly, helps with the rent so that I don't have to work double shifts at the restaurant. He should be home around one or so." Heero answered calmly looking over at the clock with a slight frown on his face. It was only twelve thirty in the afternoon; he had a half hour to figure out why the hell he'd come to Heero in the first place.

"Something bothering you? I thought you wanted to 'cut all ties' to the rest of us. Wasn't that why you staged such an elaborate dismissal?" Heero's words cut through him like a knife.

"I guess I shouldn't have come then." His voice sounded so cold and alien even to him. The words left a bitter feeling in the pit of his stomach. Placing the towel on the kitchen counter, Duo tried to move past Heero but the other boy was much quicker then he was and much stronger too. Heero's hand held his wrists down as he forced Duo back against the counter, his lips coming up to brush against the long haired boys own. Duo had enough time to see the look in Heero's eyes before their lips connected, before he was lost in a sea of mixed emotions and a memory that he had tried so hard to forget.

**Two and a half years ago**

The room was dark but he didn't need the light to see where he was going, Heero sighed as he shut the door behind him and tossed his bag to the floor. He had finally finished working on his Gundam, repairing the damage to the wing on his own hadn't been easy and he was tired after all that work all he wanted to do now was sleep. He moved towards the bed but stopped halfway there when he spotted something strange, something out of place. Reaching back, he flicked the light switch on and nearly fell backwards in shock. Lying on curled up on his bed was Duo, wearing a dark red dress with his unbraided hair spread out behind him, his face buried in one of Heero's pillows. _What was he doing in a dress?_ The thought crossed his mind but he pushed it aside not wanting to know the answer.

Heero opened his mouth to ask what Duo was doing in his room but stopped short when he noticed the blood caked on the other pilot's exposed legs. Concern clouded his sleep-deprived mind as he moved closer to inspect the wound. If this idiot had managed to get himself badly hurt, Heero swore he would kill him. Heero reached out touching Duo's leg gently, but that seemed to be all Duo needed to _completely_ freak out. Duo's legs kicked out after Heero's hands as he dodged to the side to avoid a fist aimed for his chin and another aimed for his gut. Reflex had him grabbing both of Duo's hands, forcing them down on the bed but that only made Duo thrash all the harder so Heero resorted to sitting on him.

"Duo damn it stop moving!" Heero grunted as Duo's body jerked beneath him. _If he keeps this up._ Heero bit down on his lip drawing blood as he forced Duo's hands down with one of his own and struggled to get a hold of something, _anything_ to bind them down. The only thing he could reach was the wire for the bedside lamp but that would do. He jerked the plug out of its socket and frantically wrapped it around Duo's wrists to prevent any more attempts at hitting the other pilot might have in mind. He secured the line to the headboard and pressed down on Duo's belly to keep him from thrashing. The other pilot groaned as if Heero had hit him hard and stopped thrashing in an attempt to curl inwards. Heero slid off Duo to the side where he watched the other pilot curl in around his stomach, a pained look on his pale face.

Cobalt blue eyes slid open, going wide as if Duo just realized that Heero was there, frantic he tried to move away but the wire wrapped around his wrists prevented him from going far. Even then he did not seem to realize that his wrists were tied. So frantic was he in getting away from Heero that the wire started to cut into his skin leaving a bright red mark. Duo tugged at the restraint without even realizing that he was being restrained. Heero reached over, grabbing hold of Duo's wrists in order to prevent him from hurting himself further. At his touch Duo went completely still, his eyes clamped shut, his entire body trembling beneath Heero's hands.

"Duo?" Heero looked down at the trembling pilot with mixed feelings, he didn't know what to do or if he should _do_ anything at all. His eyes drifted towards the caked blood and decided to take advantage of the other pilot's momentary calm to check the wound. As his free hand glided down Duo's side towards his legs he couldn't help but notice how slender the other pilot's hips were. Was it even possible for men to have such slender hips? Heero pushed the strange thought out of his mind and looked towards the caked on blood.

As he slid his fingers over Duo's leg he kept a close eye on the other pilot but Duo had buried his face in a pillow and didn't seem to be paying attention to what Heero was doing. _At least he's not fighting._ Heero reasoned taking in the oddness of Duo's reactions in serious stride. _If he's in this much pain then the wound might be serious._ His fingers glided over smooth skin marred only by the slick feeling of blood, but try as he might Heero found no wound. _What the hell?_ Could Duo be hurt further up on his leg? Heero recalled the way Duo had curled up around his belly at a simple touch and started to push the dress upwards to see if the wound was closer to his belly.

That set the other pilot off, Duo started thrashing all over again only this time he started to scream. But his movements only managed to lift the dress up higher as Heero's hand slid upwards from the sudden thrashing, finding himself eye to eye with the other pilot. Duo went completely still, the dress had hiked up far enough for Heero to look down and see . . . nothing. Blood stained a pair of dark black panties but there was no wound so far as Heero could see. _What in the hell?!_ The sound of a fist pounding against his door made Heero jerk in surprise. He pulled the sheets up to cover Duo's body just as the door swung open and the other three pilots stepped inside.

"What do you want?" Heero asked tiredly staring at Quatre, the leader of the unwanted intrusion.

"We heard screaming and . . . ." Quatre blushed, his words coming out in disjointed syllables.

"I'm fine, get out." Heero replied calmly. Quatre opened his mouth to protest, but Trowa stopped him taking him by the arm and leading him back out. Wufei's eyes slid towards the obvious bulge on Heero's bed but he didn't say a word as he walked out after the other two, shutting the door behind him. Heero waited a moment until he could no longer hear the sound of their footsteps before pulling the sheets back down to see Duo's face.

Tears stained the other pilots face as he tried to bury in deep in the pillow, Heero sighed as he reached up and untied the cords binding Duo's wrists. He slid off the bed and started moving towards the bathroom without saying a word. When he returned Duo was sitting up rubbing at his sore wrists, his face hidden beneath the long tresses of loose dark brown hair. Heero handed Duo the wet rag he had gotten from the bathroom and moved to take the sheets off the bed. He didn't say a word as Duo disappeared into the bathroom, nor did he speak when Duo back out with a towel wrapped around him. Heero finished fixing the sheets, tossing the now bloodstained ones into the hamper as Duo came up beside him.

"I don't care." Heero replied calmly when Duo opened his mouth to speak. Duo fiddled with the towel as if unsure about Heero's words. "If you don't believe me then you don't believe me. How about we make a deal? I won't tell if you give me a kiss." Duo jerked as if he'd been hit, his entire body freezing at the words. Heero sighed turning away from the other pilot as he started to climb into bed. Heero blinked in surprise as Duo grabbed hold of his wrist and turned him around. It took him a moment to see the resolution in Duo's eyes as the other pilot's lips closed over his.

Heero froze for the split second it took him to realize what was going on, then his arms wrapped themselves around Duo's waist pulling the other pilot closer to him. His body felt like it was on fire as he reached up and pulled Duo's head back deepening the kiss. Duo moaned against the onslaught, his hands clutching to the front of Heero's shirt. It wasn't enough, it wasn't nearly enough. Heero pressed his lips hard against Duo's, he could feel the heat beginning to burn him from the inside. If he didn't do something soon he was going to burst.

Heero gasped shoving the other pilot roughly away, fighting the strange desire to pull Duo in close when he noticed the heat reflected in Duo's eyes. He knew that the other pilot had felt it as well, the burning sensation that threatened to engulf the two of them whole. Duo reached for him with one hand and Heero knocked it away, his expression going cold all of a sudden.

"Get out." Heero huffed, wiping the back of his hand across his lips. Duo flinched as if he'd been hit, looked once more at Heero before running out of the room his long hair flowing behind him like a dark brown mist. Never again Heero resolved, never again would he do such a thing.

Heero forced Duo back against the counter, his blood boiling with that same heat from so long ago. He grabbed Duo's wrists in one hand forcing them high above the other boys head as he pressed foreword deepening the kiss as his body slowly burned. His free hand pulled Duo's lower half closer to him, Duo moan beneath the kiss pushing foreword of his own accord. The heat was slowly engulfing the two of them and neither wanted it to stop. Heero broke off the kiss, staring into the heat filled cobalt blue, it wasn't enough.

The front door opened suddenly, breaking the heated passion of the two boys as a voice called out Heero's name. Duo's eyes widened at the familiar voice pulling his wrists from Heero's grip just as Relena stepped into the kitchen a wet grocery bag cradled in her arms. She stared wide eyed at Duo, her mouth falling open slightly in disbelief.

"What are you doing here?" Relena asked calmly. Of all the people Duo expected to see, Relena was not one of them and she was certainly the _last_ person Duo ever wanted to see.

"Leaving." Duo replied curtly stepping past Heero and out the back door. Cursing under his breath for ever coming, Duo was glad for the rain . . . it covered the tears that were slowly running down the side of his face.

_Stupid idiot . . . what did you expect?!_ It hurt so damned much . . . all he wanted to do was run as far and as fast as he could without ever looking back. Run from the truth, but most of all, run from the feelings that the truth exposed. _I'm such an idiot._


	2. Chapter 2

**Honesty**

Disclaimer: I don't own the G-Wing Characters so please don't sue me for borrowing them . . .

**Preventers HQ**

His head rang painfully as he stared up at the ceiling waiting for his lungs to start up again after being thrown to the mat. Heero rubbed at the back of his head as he finally sat up, his breath coming out in ragged gasps. Sitting beside him, his breath also coming out in gasps was Wufei. The Chinese man watched Heero from the corner of his eye keeping a weary watch on the Japanese man sitting beside him. The two had been sparing for the better part of an hour and a half, neither loosing ground to the other. To be honest, Wufei was the only Preventer willing to spar with Heero at this point. In fact he was the only one that Heero _hadn't_ sent to the EM ward.

"You wanna quit now?" Wufei asked even though he knew the answer to his question. The rogue pilot turned Preventer, would keep sparing until he passed out or was too tired to move. In answer Heero got to his feet and assumed his fighting position once more. Three years of this, Wufei wasn't sure if he could handle another year of sparing with Heero. The short reprieve was over and nothing short of one of them passing out would stop it.

Wufei didn't know what drove Heero to this point no one knew what drove Heero anymore, the man had simply closed himself off from everyone else. The only time Wufei saw him, other then missions, was when Heero wanted to spar, which was becoming a habit of late. Wufei rolled away from a kick that would have landed on his unprotected side if he hadn't seen it coming. Heero's only warning that Wufei better get up and fight or go to the ER on a stretcher if that. He rolled onto his feet and launched himself backwards just as Heero's fist came close to knocking his teeth out.

Wufei regained his composure as Heero settled back into his fighting stance, watching Wufei carefully waiting to see what the other would do. Wufei shrugged away the idea of simply surrendering to the other man. Lately Heero seemed to take that as an invitation to beat the living crap out of the person. He doubted that Sally would appreciate having Wufei carted into the ER at a time like this. The only way to stop the sparring match was to tire Heero out, a task that was fast becoming more and more difficult as time passed.

Heero moved foreword so fast that Wufei barely had time to dodge the fist aimed for his gut. Heero compensated for the missed punch by dropping low, spinning his leg so that Wufei found the ground rushing up to meet him. Only reflexes saved him from eating the ground as well as the heel aimed for his head, as Wufei spun and rolled to get further away from Heero's attacks. He sighed knowing that at least they were coming to the final part of the sparring match since he discovered that Heero usually went all out during the last few minutes or so of the fight. Wufei rolled back again to regain his footing as Heero stepped back from his attack, the pattern of attack and retreat playing over and over again.

He winced as pain shot up and down his tired body, he couldn't keep this up for long and he could tell that Heero knew that. _Three years of this._ Wufei shrugged away the pain and resumed his fighting stance waiting for Heero's next attack.

The door to the sparring room swung open just as Heero launched his last attack, moving with a speed that came from years of practice. Wufei didn't even see Heero moved it seemed as if he just appeared before him those cold blue eyes staring back at him. With his fist already planted in Wufei's gut stealing the breath from his lungs.

"Wufei!" Sally's voice echoed in his head as if from a great distance as he stared up into her pale blue eyes. His chest was on fire as he slowly pushed himself upright, looking across the mat to where Heero lay, his eyes closed curled up asleep at last.

"Damn that took longer then I thought it would." Wufei coughed pulling some much-needed air into his lungs. Sally stared at him incredulously, turning her head to regard the now sleeping Heero.

"I don't know why you put up with him. He's dangerous, and what's worse he's unpredictable!" Sally sighed shaking her head as she looked back at Wufei.

"Because . . . he needs this, I don't know why and I'm not about to ask him why, but I know that he needs this." Wufei replied after a moment. It was the only answer he had, the only thing he could tell her that would make her stop asking for answers. He wanted answers just as badly as she did, but Heero wasn't the kind of person to just hand out answers to anyone who asked. At least . . . he wasn't anymore. _What happened to you three years ago?_

The sound of the AC compressor turning on woke him from the dark realm of sleep that had claimed him the night before. His body ached from head to toe, but he pushed aside the pain, staring up at the plain white ceiling. He was back in his room, Wufei must have carried him here after he had passed out. The last thing he remembered was the ground rushing up to meet him and the blissful darkness covering him in a blanket of unconsciousness. He stared down at his body, deciding that it would still carry him as far as the bathroom he threw off the sheets and sat up.

Heero paused as he stared down at the bruises both fresh and old covering a vast majority of his pale white legs. A bag of water rested beside his ankle where a particularly nasty black-purple bruise was forming over the swollen area. He must have broken it when he passed out the night before, but it wasn't like he would let such a small thing stop him from . . . .

The door to his room swung open and he turned to see who walked in, his heart leaping into his throat at the shocking realization that he wasn't in _his_ room he was in Wufei's. The Chinese man stared back at him with an impassive look on his face he was naked from the waist up. A large portion of his chest was wrapped in bandages. Heero twisted so that he could put his feet to the floor, wincing at the pain shooting up his battered legs. This he ignored as he tried to get to his feet, putting weight on the injury.

"I'd rest that if I were you. Sally will kill us both if she has to redo all the work she spent on us last night." Wufei replied calmly as Heero settled back onto the bed. Heero stared back at him from beneath shaded eyes as if to say he wasn't about to get up and walk away with his ankle the way it was. "Just thought I'd mention it, incase you've lost all reason after the fight last night."

Heero shrugged away the deeper meaning to Wufei's words, turning to stare around at the room he found himself in. Plain white walls, with a jade green dragon bordering around it, dark red curtains hung over a large glass sliding window that probably led out to a Chinese style garden. He recognized the room to be Wufei's, since the Chinese man's clan symbol pretty much dominated the entirety of the room. The only thing out of place was a single photo hanging on the wall in front of him it was obscenely decorated in a vine-designed frame that completely threw off the décor of the rest of the room. Heero had one just like it hanging in his apartment it was the first and _last_ picture the Gundam Pilots had ever taken together.

"I can't bring myself to get rid of the thing." Wufei replied seeing where Heero's gaze had landed.

"He was an idiot." Heero replied sourly turning away from the picture.

"He seemed to have something else on his mind that night. He didn't once come over to bother me about Sally or my choice of career." Wufei looked at Heero and shrugged at the look he saw in the other man's eyes, "I've had five years to think about it, and a whole lot of time in between missions to decide one thing. Duo was lying."

"He never lies." Heero answered coldly.

"Not intentionally, no. I don't suppose Duo would ever intentionally lie to any of us, unless he thought he was doing us a favor." Wufei continued folding his arms across his chest. "Like I said Heero, I've had five years to think about what Duo said." Wufei's eyes narrowed slightly as he stared down at Heero, "And five years to come to the conclusion that you're hiding something from all of us. Something that involves Duo." Heero flinched, the first outward sign that he was indeed hiding something from everyone, but Wufei didn't press the issue. He would let Heero come to his own decisions about whatever it was he and Duo were hiding.

Inside his mind Heero was wondering what he should do, if Wufei had figured out this much in only five years, what had the others come to think about Duo's words? _You left them alone for too long you moron, five years without a word from you and what do you expect?_

**Five years Ago**

The noise of the crowd pressed in around him as he stood off to the side watching the smiling faces, gauging every person who looked his way. He knew his face looked anything but inviting, none of the other pilots had come near him so far. Persian blue eyes locked onto the one pair of eyes he was waiting to see, cobalt blue almost purplish colored eyes stared back at him from behind a false smile. Heero sighed, as he looked elsewhere not wanting to meet those eyes any longer. He was definitely not enjoying himself and neither, it seemed was Duo.

The party continued smoothly enough, most of the guests had left by the time it was ten so the only ones left were the five pilots, and the five girls crazy enough to hang around them. Duo and Hilde stood in a corner arguing silently about something, Hilde looked close to tears when Duo walked away. Wufei stood beside Sally with a bored look on his face as if he would rather be somewhere else. While Trowa, Catherine, Quatre, Relena, and Dorothy watched the spectacle of Duo –vs- Hilde. Heero sighed as he moved towards the arguing couple, with every intention of breaking up the argument.

"Why don't you just leave me the fuck alone?!" Duo's voice echoed across the room as he stormed away from Hilde, brushing past Heero without saying a word. On reflex, Heero reached out and grabbed hold of the other boy's wrist stopping him in his tracks.

_Whack!_ Duo's open palm slammed hard against Heero's face sending a shock through the Japanese boy's body as he rocked backwards from the force. Duo's eyes rimmed with red, his teeth clinched tightly together as he stared – no, he was _glaring_ at him! – right in the eye.

"Duo!" Quatre's voice sounded far away as Heero and Duo glared at each other.

"I'm sick of this! I'm sick of all of you! I wish I'd never met you! You pragmatic assholes!" Duo shouted at all of them, not just Heero. The braided boy looked each of them in the eyes as he prattled off words intent on hurting every single person in the room. His cobalt blue eyes flashed in a way that none of them had ever seen before, none of them would ever have expected something like this. Duo jerked his hand out of Heero's grasp, a sick smile spreading across his face as he finished speaking.

"You'd all be better off if you'd died in that war." Duo finished as he walked away.

"You're imagining things Wufei, Duo's never told a lie in al l the time we've known him." Heero sighed running his fingers through his hair.

"He broke up with Hilde, storms off after a very convincing speech, then disappears for five years. The last time Hilde even heard from him was three years ago." Wufei replied calmly as he turned to face Heero. "You're hiding something Yuy." Heero met Wufei's gaze without blinking. His expression emotionless to the core if he did know something he wasn't about to tell anyone. Whatever secret he kept would stay that, a secret.

"Looks like our newest mission concerns Miss Relena." Sally's voice intruded on his thoughts as he watched the limping form of Heero making his slow way towards them. "Lady Une wants us to take him with us."

"He won't like that." Wufei replied turning to meet her gaze. Sally sighed shrugging her shoulders in a helpless manner. They both knew where this was going to end up. Sure Heero would do the mission, but he'd be nearly intolerable throughout the entirety of it all.

"Is something wrong?" Heero asked as he came closer. His blue eyes darkened as he stared from Sally back to Wufei listening to their explanations of their newest mission. Normally, Preventers worked in groups of two at the most but since no one in the force was crazy or willing to partner with Heero, Lady Une had given the errant boy to them. "When do we leave, and how long?" The question was not what they had expected, but then Heero was no longer the person they thought him to be.

"Today, three weeks at least. Relena's touring a particularly troubled part of the Colonies and she needs escorts to assure that nothing happens." Sally answered calmly. Heero nodded as he turned and made his way back the way he'd come, probably going to get everything ready.

**One Week Later**

"Why am I here again?" Heero's voice came through the COM link in an 'I'm bored' kind of way. Wufei sighed as he touched the link about to reply to the obvious question. "Never mind, I don't want to remember."

Wufei sighed again, looking out across the crowd to see Sally shaking her head in a tired manner. It had only been one week and already Heero was bored, but they couldn't let him go back to HQ at least not alone. Wufei looked around until he spotted the dark haired man moving towards the outskirts of the crowd. What were they going to do with him? The man was a loner by nature none of the other pilots had ever been close to the oft-reclusive boy. Only Duo had ever managed to break through that wall of ice.

"I'm going to check around the outside." Heero replied calmly.

"Don't stray too far, we should be out of here in another hour or so." Sally answered. Wufei saw Heero wave her off as he continued along his path without looking back.

"This is so pointless . . . why'd I ever come here?" Heero sighed to himself as he reached the outskirts of the crowd and started his scan of the area.

Tall trees and even taller buildings surrounded the small park area where the conference was being held many of the colonies civilians had arrived to watch the procedures. A few children ran around the outer areas of the park, Heero could hear their laughter from where he stood. Even with this many people, there weren't many guards watching the area, and only three Preventers had showed up as a personally request of Miss Relena the Colony Representative. Heero's eyes spied a familiar couple standing not too close but not too far from the stage, Noin and Zechs were still shadowing Relena it seemed. Something bumped against his leg and he spun around on impulse expecting an attack.

A pair of deep green eyes stared up at him, light brown hair tied back in a braid that hung just over the little girls' shoulder. Heero blinked when he realized there were tears in those eyes, to such a small child he must look incredibly frightening. Relaxing his muscles, Heero bent down to look the child in the eyes. This must have been a wrong move, because the girl instantly started to cry her shrill screams enough to knock Heero backwards. What was he supposed to do? Heero had never handled a child before . . . well, _ever_ actually.

"Ami-chan . . . ."

A soft voice whispered above him as a pair of slender arms wrapped around the tiny trembling child, lifting it into the air. Heero followed those arms all the way up to a pair of cobalt blue eyes, a smile spread across that oh-so-familiar face. He watched, mesmerized as the stranger held the child close whispering words of comfort into its' ears that soothed away the tears. Finally those eyes met his and he felt his heart skip a beat as he got to his feet.

"Thank you, Ami-chan likes to run around so much I often loose sight of her. See Ami? He's not such a scary man, and look! He's wearing the same uniform as daddy does!" That familiar voice washed over him like a song as he stared.

"Duo . . . ?" His voice shook as he spoke the name, one hand reaching out to touch the soft pale skin.

"MOMMY!" The high-pitched cry of the little girl snapped him out of his daze.

Heero blinked as the world came into focus around him, the child trembling in the _woman's_ arms, the look in her eyes as she stared back at him. _It's not Duo._ Heero's eyes drifted up over the dark blue jeans and the white t-shirt clinging to her slightly small breasts. The only thing that confused Duo with this woman was the color of her eyes and the long brown tresses that framed her body.

"I'm sorry . . . I had you confused with someone I once knew." Heero sighed rubbing his face as he turned and started to walk away.

"Heero . . . ." The softly spoken word shook him to his core as he spun back around, but the woman and the child had just . . . disappeared.

"Duo . . . that was Duo . . . ." Heero's heart beat frantically in his chest as he searched the area, looking for even a sign of the long brown tresses.

"Heero where are you?!" The angry sound of Wufei's voice drew him back from his search as he turned back towards the crowd to see the chaos that had erupted out of nowhere. The crowd scattered as gunshots were fired, Heero saw Wufei and Sally running towards the pavilion and after a moment's hesitation, rushed to join them. In the back of his mind he remembered what Duo had said . . . 'He's wearing the same uniform that daddy does!'

The room was dark, with only enough lighting provided to see that there were five people in the room sitting around a small table. Their voices were hushed and their words were few, they had failed and their target was still very much alive.

"I was so close, damn it all the bastard got lucky!" A deep gruff voice grumbled in the dimly lit room as the man settled into a comfortable position in his chair.

"No, you're just a bad aim. We shoulda sent in Sara, she coulda hit the target no problem." Another one complained rubbing his forehead tiredly.

"She ain't about ta leave that little girl o' hers, 'sides, we can't keep relyin' on the girl. She's wild and unpredictable, has been for three years. Disappears at inopportune times, doesn't show up for weeks then walks in without a word to where she's been." Another argued.

"What are you her father? She coulda at least hit the target, unlike Dark over there." A third man replied.

"Shut up! There was a lotta people there, I didn' wanna hit no one." The gruff voice protested.

"And that's your problem . . . isn't it, Dark? You just don't have the _balls_ to do what has to be done do you?" A singsong voice spoke from the back of the room drawing the men's attention. A light flickered on and the five men flinched at the sudden brightness of it all. A soft chuckle echoed around the room as their eyes adjusted. Standing framed in light was the last member of their little group of renegades Sara Maxwell, at twenty years she was the youngest member to ever join. A slow smile spread across her face as she regarded all of them, standing at her side was her little girl. The child watched all of them with such piercing green eyes, one hand holding tightly to her mother.

"What's with all the secrecy?" She asked settling into her chair, the tiny child sitting in her lap.

"Where the hell have you been? We started this meeting a half-hour ago." The last member, the only one who hadn't spoken at all during the past half-hour, finally spoke. His voice was like ice, his dark black eyes like a pair of dark obsidian stones. When he spoke the others flinched, except for Sara. He was the leader of this rag-tag bunch of rebels, or as close to one as they could ever get. His short-cropped hair matched the color of his eyes, a thin scar ran down the side of his face making it look like he was always smiling. His real name was George, but only Sara knew that, to everyone else in the room he was Leader. Of the five men, he was the smartest, he planned all the missions and supplied all the gear.

"Don't get your panties in a bunch, I took Ami-chan to the park to have some fun." She shrugged patting the child on the head affectionately. "I saw Dark's little . . . mishap." She looked over at the brown haired man sitting across from her and smiled. "Ami-chan could have made that hit."

"Shut up you damned slut!" Dark exploded getting to his feet.

"Sit your ass down Dark, now is not the time to get defensive." Leader replied coldly. "We need to plan carefully now we can't afford another mishap like today." Dark swallowed hard as he slowly sat back down, sweat dripped down his face at the look in Leader's eyes. "Chaos, you got all the information we need?"

All attention went towards the blond haired man sitting to the left of her, Chaos by name in this room, his real name was Kaito and he actually worked in a law firm. He was a computer hacker and worked as the informant of the group, finding information before anyone else.

"We'll need to be _really_ careful, thanks to Dark's little mess up they've tightened security and brought in seven more Preventers." Chaos replied leaning foreword to glare at Dark. Of the five men, Chaos and Dark got along the least, it had come to blows a couple of times but nothing serious. The two glared at each other for a moment longer before Chaos resumed his report.

"This is no good . . . ." Leader replied shaking his head.

"Send me back in, I promise I'll hit the target this time!" Dark argued getting to his feet once more his eyes blazing with determination.

"If you couldn't hit it the first time, what makes this time so different?" Sara asked tilting her head to the side. Dark glared at her but the smile on her face remained, an eerie reminder of just who the man was dealing with.

"I'm not going to tell you again Dark, Sit-the fuck-_down_." Leader replied through clinched teeth. His eyes landed on Sara as soon as Dark resumed his seat. "Sara, this is your target now. Hit it and get the fuck outta there, I don't want my best gunner getting caught."

"Heh . . . mission . . . accepted, now if you'll excuse me . . . it's Ami-chan's nap-time." She smiled as she got to her feet cradling the tiny child in her arms as she left the room. She paused at the door and looked back over her shoulder a cold smile on her face as she looked at Dark. "Maybe one of these days, you'll give me the mission to get rid of the flack."

Dark's face turned bright red as he got to his feet, his gun appearing in his hand. The sound of a gunshot echoed in the room as the four men ducked reflexively, the gun in Dark's hand was gone and his wrist was bleeding. Eight pairs of eyes drifted towards Sara, three wide-eyed, one just annoyed at it all. A pair of green eyes peeked over Sara's shoulders, a small pistol held in tiny delicate fingers. The smile on Sara's face took on a whole knew meaning.

"Like I said, Ami-chan could have hit that target."

They watched her leave before looking at each other. Sara Maxwell, the youngest person to have ever joined their organization, their best gunner . . . a mystery in the guise of a woman.


	3. Chapter 3

**Beginnings I**

Disclaimer: I don't own the G-Wing Characters so please don't sue me . . . .

**A.C. 195**

He sat on the edge of the cockpit hatch, different parts spread out around him in a semi-circle. The sound of silence echoed around him as he worked diligently to find and fix the system problem in his Gundam. He had spent the better part of the night just working, sleep had eluded him for the forth time last night. The image of a dark red dress, full lips and a pair of deep blue eyes haunted his dreams. His mind was just too worked up to even spare a moment to sleep. He had been warned about something like this happening he'd even been told what to do but after the second night nothing seemed to work. Nothing short of sheer exhaustion and he was fast running out of things to do.

Heero sighed, brushing the sweat from his forehead as he leaned back rubbing his shoulder to relieve some of the pressure building around that area. A pair of hands wrapped around his shoulder blades and started pressing against the pressure. Heero freaked, leaping up on his feet as he spun around his gun in hand. A pair of wide cobalt blue eyes stared up at him and he sighed again rubbing his forehead. Duo wore a nervous grin on his face as he looked up at Heero.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Heero demanded lowering his gun as he sank back to the ground. His pulse was starting to race at the mere sight of those eyes and he gritted his teeth together in irritation. Duo had been appearing everywhere he went lately and that was one reason why he couldn't get any sleep.

"I thought I'd get some work done on Deathscythe, then I saw you rubbing your shoulders and I thought I'd help. You looked tense." Duo answered.

"I told you I won't tell anyone so why don't you just get lost already?" Heero snapped glaring at the other pilot. He hoped that Duo would leave so he could work out the rest of the . . . kinks in his body. Duo fidgeted slightly under Heero's gaze but he didn't move and he certainly didn't respond to the obvious threat in the other's voice.

"Heero . . . ." Duo hesitated fiddling with one of the dissembled parts in front of him until Heero finally took the thing away least he break it. Their fingers touched and Heero bit down the sudden ache that raced through his body at that moment. He couldn't afford to be distracted and Duo was proving to be a big distraction.

"Go-away, or I tell the others." The threat sounded idle in his mind but the horrified look in Duo's eyes told him that the other had taken it to heart. Duo got to his feet and left, the sound of his retreating footsteps echoed in the emptiness that filled Heero's heart at that moment. It surprised the Wing pilot . . . that he would feel such pain at seeing the back of Duo's head.

**Present Day**

Heat engulfed her body and soul as she moved against the pressure building up inside her body, his heavier build pressed down on her from above. The sensation of being filled pulsed through her until she thought she would go crazy from it all. It was all they desired from each other, and all they ever needed at that moment a body to hold onto, a moment where the world around them no longer existed. Where they could loose themselves in the passion and forget. Forget the pain that first brought them together, even if it was only a moment.

She lay awake an hour later staring up at the ceiling, the sound of his gentle breathing and the feel of his body against hers should have been enough. It was normally enough for her but tonight . . . tonight her past haunted her. Sara sighed, climbing out of bed she padded silently down the hall and into the next room where her little girl lay asleep. Kneeling beside the bed she played with the soft brown locks, brushing the loose strands away from the gentle face. She wanted to remember why, why the world had become precious to her again.

"I'll make it safe again my heart . . . I swear." She whispered placing a soft kiss atop the child's forehead. Ami twisted in her sleep settling back into her dreams clutching at Sara's hand with her tiny fingers.

"You never told me you were going to train her to hold and shoot a gun." The sound of his voice made her turn her head to look at him. George stood in the doorway naked, his dark black eyes staring at her equally naked form. She sighed getting to her feet, gently pulling her hand from Ami's grasp as she turned to face him. Dark eyes roamed the length of her body, a body that only moments ago had been under the command of the pleasure this man gave. Their two souls were entwined, different and yet similar in many ways, both running from a past that haunted their every step. Both brought together by one solitary driving force, the child sleeping peacefully behind her.

"I don't know why I did it, it's not exactly a skill she's going to need any time soon. I couldn't help myself." She whispered moving to stand before him. She inched closer until their lips nearly touched, she could feel his breath mingling with hers and knew he was as aroused as she. The sight of his naked form made her pulse race, desire building up inside both of them once more. His arm snaked around her waist pulling her close as he guided her out of the room and back into theirs, closing the door softly behind him as their lips met. She moaned into his mouth as he guided her towards the bed and lowered her into the softness.

Her voice was like a caress against his skin and his heart pulsed to hear the sound of it, the name that slipped past her lips was not his, it never was. George ground his teeth together at the sound of it escaping her lips, crushing his lips against hers until they were bruised. The name infuriated him, even when it was him making her body wither beneath his fingertips, when it was he who made her cry out and knew where to touch to hear the sound of her voice, she still called out _that_ name. _I will wipe it from your memory, make you forget that man _ever_ existed._ His thoughts raced as he pushed himself inside of her, hearing her gasp at the pressure that was steadily building between the two of them.

"You are mine . . . ." He whispered into her ear and she shivered in response wrapping herself around him. _You're mine . . . ._

The light from the computer screen illuminated the room in a soft blue light, but it was still darker then hell when he walked in. Wufei waited for his eyes to adjust to the sudden loss of light before moving towards the man sitting with his back to the door. Heero's gaze was intent, staring at the screen as if mesmerized by the information strolling across it. Wufei sighed as he came up behind Heero glancing at the screen for one brief moment to realize that it was the colony registration list.

"Have you even _seen_ your bed lately?" Wufei asked putting a hand on Heero's shoulder. Heero shrugged Wufei's hand off never taking his gaze from the screen. "Heero . . . this is becoming redundant. You've been searching for him for three years now, face it if Duo wants to disappear then there's nothing that either of us can do about it."

Heero took his eyes off the screen for a single moment to look up at Wufei; his blue eyes were bloodshot from staring at the screen for so long, his skin pale from the lack of lighting in the room. It was obvious that Heero hadn't slept in the three days they'd been preparing everything for the reopening of the conference with the new support from the Preventers office and the added security to ensure safety.

"Come on, you need to get some rest before you pass out." Wufei sighed rubbing his forehead to quell the headache already forming there. The sound of the computer system beeping drew Heero's attention away from Wufei and back to the screen. Wufei stared at the name that flashed on the screen and the picture next to it. _He's searching for a little girl named Ami Connelly?_ Wufei blinked as more information on the girl popped up.

"Ami Connelly, age three, mother's name Sara Connelly, and her father's name is George Connelly." Heero's fingers danced over the keyboard as he typed in Sara Connell.

"George Connelly? You're researching one of the officers in charge of this colony?" Wufei frowned slightly as he stared at the girl. He had met with George Connelly just once since he'd been here but he hadn't known that the man was married, let alone that he had a child. Her green eyes and light colored hair didn't look a thing like George Connelly so she must have taken after her mother.

"You know him?" Heero asked looking up at Wufei.

"Sally and I met with him yesterday to discuss the situation since he's the officer in charge of this sector. He invited us to eat dinner with him tonight so we can finalize the security setup around the conference area." Wufei paused when he noticed the look in Heero's eyes. The deep blue eyes sparkled with a renewed sense of purpose the like of which Wufei hadn't seen in a long time. Then it occurred to him, the odd thing about George that made him come down here to check on Heero. The man seemed intent on meeting Heero, he had asked specifically for Heero to attend the dinner. Wufei had come down here with the intent of asking Heero to accompany them but he saw that that was not going to be much of a problem.

"What time's the dinner?" Heero asked calmly the look in his eyes gone as fast as it had appeared. Wufei had to shake his head at the sight, Heero was hiding something that much he knew but as to what that something was. Wufei could spend several days torturing Heero to find out what he was hiding and he'd get more out of a wall then _this_ man.

"Tonight at six, I came down here to tell you to go shower and get some rest before then, you look like hell rolled over you twice over and wasn't able to kill you." Wufei replied shaking his head. Heero got to his feet without saying a word and walked out of the room leaving Wufei standing there watching the door slide close behind him. What the hell was going on? _Tonight's going to be _very_ interesting._ He had a feeling he was going to need a whole bottle of Tylenol before the night was over.

He lay awake in his bed staring up at the ceiling in his mind an image of cobalt blue eyes stared angrily back at him. A memory of pain that had haunted his every step for three whole years, the memory that kept him up unable to sleep until he worked himself to near collapse. Heero sat up looking over his shoulder at the digital clock resting on the bedside table the bright green numbers gleamed at him as he read the time on them. It was only five o'clock, he still had another whole hour to wait but he found waiting to be almost impossible. His mind raced as he got to his feet and shuffled around in the dark searching for his clothes by sheer memory alone. He was dressed and ready by the time Wufei and Sally arrived to pick him up at six o'clock.

"You ready?" Wufei asked almost skeptically. The look in his eyes told Heero that Wufei knew he hadn't slept.

"Yeah, let's go." Heero replied easily.

"This should be interesting . . . ." Sally whispered softly as she watched the two men make their way towards the blue rent-a-car that Wufei had borrowed. She shook her head slightly as she followed after them, not quite sure of just what had passed between the two men.

**Earlier**

"So we're going to have guests tonight? Anyone I know?" She cradled the phone between her shoulder and her ear as she wrestled with Ami's squirming body parts. A high-pitched giggle escaped the three year olds lips as she wiggled her legs in the air deftly avoiding capture.

"Some of the Preventers working the case with me, no one too noticeable." George answered on the other line, his voice projected to be heard above the giggles. "Just wanted to give you a heads up about it . . . sorry I didn't plan it better."

"You wouldn't be you if you did now would you?" She smiled as she finally caught hold of Ami's legs to which the child squealed with delight. "I'll make something special."

"Okay . . . thanks a lot dinner's tonight at six right?"

"Yeah, let me just get this little one to sleep and I'll start getting everything ready. Ami-chan you want to say bye-bye to daddy?"

"Bye daddy!" Ami squealed as Sara lifted her into her arms to which George laughed.

"Bye-bye honey, I'll see you tonight." George replied just before he hung up. Sara smiled as she replaced the phone on the charger and carried Ami out into the living room.

"Guess we better get this place cleaned up first right?" She sighed looking around at the disaster area that had become their living room. _Who said having a child brought joy to ones home?_ "They obviously never had to clean up after that child." Sara sighed as she settled Ami down in her crib and bent to pick up one of the many toys that were scattered around the floor. It was an old beat-up doll with a missing eye and patches where parts of her body had to be sown back on.

"Mine?" Ami replied holding her hands out towards the doll with a pleading look in her eyes.

Sara smiled as she handed the doll over and knelt to pick up everything else, Ami happily settled down to play. Every now and then Ami would look up to watch as her mother picked up one toy after the other, throwing away the trash that had accumulated over the course of six months. By the time she had finished clearing the living room Sara looked over to see Ami curled up in her crib cradling the doll close to her chest her thumb stuck in her mouth. She smiled slightly as she watched leaning over to brush aside a stray hair from Ami's face.

"I better start cooking or else I'm going to have a few too many hungry guests coming over." Sara sighed as she moved towards the kitchen; at the very least this part of the house wasn't a disaster area. The stove was old and ran on gas instead of electricity, at the very least it worked and anything that happened to break down she could fix. She mentally rolled back her sleeves as she searched the fridge and the cabinets for everything she would need. It never even occurred to her to ask George who he was inviting over.

**6 o'clock**

The night was cold outside, a clear sign that the winter season was going to start soon in this colony, as they stood outside staring at the single story house before them. Heero felt his heart pounding deep in his chest as he followed Sally and Wufei up the steps to the front door. It opened before they even had a chance to knock and a smiling face greeted them.

"Hi! Come in before you freeze to death!" The smiling face pulled them into the warmth of the house and shook off the chill night air that had seemed to cling to them. They stared at her as she stood there with that smile on her face, her cobalt blue eyes glimmering slightly. For one moment, it seemed as if she had recognized them but the moment passed without a hitch as she guided them into the living room. A whirlwind of limbs came rushing up to them, wrapping its arms around Wufei's legs with a squeal of delight as if they had been playing a game and she had finally caught him. Heero bit back his urge to laugh at the stricken look on Wufei's face at the sight of the tiny child wrapped around his leg. A pair of green eyes stared up at him sparkling with childish mischief.

"Mine?" She replied holding tightly to Wufei's leg. Stricken, Wufei stared down at her not knowing what he should do. Men he could handle, women he could tolerate, but a child? It seemed as if the world had stopped and frozen over for Wufei the moment the child caught hold of him.

"No, Ami-chan . . . that's not yours." Sara sighed as she bent to lift the child into her arms; she smiled slightly at Wufei as she cradled the child on her hips. "I'm sorry, this is my daughter Ami."

It was like being hit in the stomach, Heero stared at the green eyed, brown haired child with wide eyes. It seemed that those cobalt blue eyes were staring particularly hard at him as she spoke those words. A cold chill descended down around him as he looked back at those painfully familiar eyes, searching for some sign. It seemed an eternity had passed since the last time he had seen those eyes, that long flowing brown hair and those slender hips. He wanted to reach out and touch the soft tanned cheek, to caress those soft lips with his own. Most of all he wanted to deny the presence of the small child wrapped in her arms.

"Good, everyone's here now, Sara shall we start dinner?"

He walked up beside her and wrapped his arms around her slender waist pulling her close as he bent down to kiss her softly on her lips. Heero felt his blood boil at the sight, felt the world around him go red with rage as he watched. For the first time in a long time Heero felt a genuine urge to kill this man. The kiss itself was short but to Heero it felt like an eternity to watch the two of them. The man, George according to Wufei, smiled as he looked over at them and gestured towards the kitchen where a small table had been set up with food around it.

"Sara's a great cook, she'd be hurt if you didn't try at least some of what she made." George replied calmly to which Sara just laughed. The dinner seemed long and aggravating, with George, Wufei and Sally making the necessary arrangements for the upcoming conference that would soon start. Heero let his mind drift above the noise as he sat staring across the table at Sara who paid particular attention to the little girl sitting beside her. She glanced up at him every now and then but quickly averted her eyes before anything could pass between them. At last she got to her feet and pick up the already drowsy three-year old.

"I better get this one to bed George, thank you all for coming to have dinner with us." Sara bowed slightly as she moved to walk past him.

"Do you need help honey?" George asked as she moved near him.

"No, its okay. You better stay here and plan everything I wouldn't want you to fall behind on your work or anything like that." She smiled slightly at him as she shifted the heavy child in her arms and walked out. "Good night everyone."

Heero turned his head to look over at Wufei who stared back at him with an impassive look in his eyes. Heero sighed, he had a feeling, when they got up to leave that he was going to have one hell of a night ahead of him.

She watched them leave from the shadows of her bedroom window, her eyes narrowed slightly when he turned around to stare back at where she stood. He couldn't see her, that much she was certain but that didn't stop her heart from skipping a beat as it had when he had walked through the front door. As he disappeared into the small car she turned her gaze back towards the computer screen behind her. The image shrouded in static seemed to smile back at her as she moved to stand in front of the computer. She wanted to reach in and strangle that unknown face; draw the life from what she imagined was a smug little smile.

"How was your night?" The computerized voice used to construe the identity of the person she currently worked for.

"Why?" The question seemed ultimately pointless when considering the plans they had struggled to make. This was a world she knew quite well, in order to maintain control one had to have a firm hold on those who would fight control. Dr. G had done something similar to her once, to discover if she were willing to continue with a plan that would kill thousands.

"I wanted to make sure you know what's at stake here, _Sara_ to remind you that your life is no longer your own." The voice was cold-unfeeling, _logical_ as she leaned her fists onto the table putting her face close enough to the camera.

"I remember _exactly_ what's at stake, don't fuck with me Calypso . . . you won't like the result even if you do hold all the cards." She hissed ending the transmission without pause.

"Do you really?" The sound of George's voice brought her back to herself as she looked up to see the man standing in the doorway. "I can't help but think those 'old comrades' of yours might stand in our way, and then what will you do?"

"The same thing I'd do if _you_ stood in my way." She replied folding her arms across her chest.

"And what about Heero, what if _he_ stood in your way?" She glared across the room at him, her lips thinning into a sneer as she moved to stand in front of him. "Would you kill Ami's father?"


	4. Chapter 4

**Beginnings II**

Disclaimer: I don't own the G-Wing Characters so please don't sue me for borrowing them . . .

Her eyes gleamed darkly at him, he hadn't meant to strike such a deep cord but the words had left his lips before he could take them back. George braced himself for the inevitable storm, if there was one thing they never discussed, it was Ami's father. A hint of jealously entered his heart at the mere _thought_ of the man, the one who had managed to do what he could not. Win the heart of Death itself. For all the years that George had known the 'boy' named Duo Maxwell, he had never been able to break past the barrier to reveal the truth beneath the façade.

When he had run into her again several years ago, she was at least eight months pregnant carrying a heavy bag of groceries from a beat up old pickup truck to a small motel room. Even after years of separation, and her drastic change in appearance there was no mistaking Duo, as soon as she looked up. Only one person in all his years had those kind of eyes, a deep cobalt blue with a slightly dark gleam to them that left a person with a chilled feeling after meeting them. When they were kids Duo's eyes had been labeled as the eyes of Death itself, and the nickname had stuck. The shock of seeing Duo after so long was nothing compared to the sight of Duo's enlarged belly.

"I doubt Heero will let you get away once you complete the mission." George replied coldly forcing himself to see the present and not the past.

"I know he won't." She whispered calmly her eyes hidden beneath the shadows of her bangs. "But then . . . I don't really have a choice in the matter do I, George?"

The sarcasm in her voice hit a nerve as he moved to stand in front of her; dark black eyes peered down to stare into those cobalt blues as he reached out to touch her long brown hair. The plan had to go as they had discussed it; even with the new developments they really had no choice in the matter. If Sara failed . . . if the two of them failed to complete this little mission it wasn't their lives they were playing with.

"Ami-chan means as much to me as she does to you Sara." He whispered softly. She pushed his hand away and got to her feet, she stood a good half-inch shorter then he but the look in her eyes spoke of murder. He wasn't talking to Sara anymore that had been the plan from the get-go. Sara could never make it past the guards he set up nor could she complete the mission as was required. For this particular mission they would have to ask Death for help . . . and none knew Death better then Duo Maxwell.

"Let's get this over with . . . I'm not getting any younger." She/He replied turning around, "You're going to have to help me . . . I've never actually _braided_ my hair before."

The silence between the three of them was almost poetic in a sense, although Heero thought he'd be far more comfortable explaining things in his own room rather then in Sally and Wufei's. The two sat on the floor their feet folded neatly beneath them while Heero stood with his back against the wall. After the dinner he was far too excited to sit the way the other two were. After searching for three years he'd finally found her! In all the excitement, Wufei had brought him back down by demanding that Heero 'spill the beans' about what was going on. It had taken a while but he'd finally managed to spill what he knew and speculate the rest.

"Is there anything else you want me to elaborate on?" Heero sighed as he rubbed his forehead, after the night he'd had all he wanted to do was crawl into bed and sleep. He didn't think he would have a problem getting to sleep this time around. Wufei shook his head but Heero couldn't tell whether it was to clear the confusion in his mind or to deny his question. The look in Sally's face told a similar story, the two just couldn't begin to fathom what they'd just been told. _And everyone thinks it would be easier if Duo actually explained all this?_

"You mean after all these years he's . . . _she's_ been lying to us?" Wufei spoke through gritted teeth his fists clinched in his lap. The anger of betrayal was heavy on his voice, out of all the Gundam Pilots Heero would have to say that Wufei would be the only one feeling this right about now. After all, a few weeks being stuck in the same cell as Duo could make anyone feel a little strange.

"Not really . . . we never questioned Duo's sexuality, we just assumed that she was a guy because she acted like one." To be truthful, Heero was surprised that Duo had managed to keep her secret as long as she had. She did, after all, often sleep in the men's quarters when she had traveled with Howard during the war.

"And what about the kid, is it really hers?" Wufei asked a slight grimace passing over his face. He obviously wasn't enjoying his new found peek into the private life of Duo Maxwell. Heero shrugged at the question, he didn't know . . . the last time he'd seen Duo . . . they hadn't really _talked_ much. Of course . . . there was something oddly familiar about the little girl; the problem was Heero couldn't figure it out himself.

"I suppose it has to be, by the looks of things she had to have been born three years ago and that's right around the time Duo disappeared so we don't know what could have happened." Heero shrugged again, he wasn't too interested in the kid to be honest.

"It's hers there's no doubt about that, but I don't think she's George's kid. The differences are too many for that to be possible." Sally replied calmly. She looked over at Heero for a moment but didn't say anything, although an odd look did pass over her face when she did. Heero shrugged it off, the kid wasn't _that_ important after all.

"I want to know _more._ First off, how long have you been keeping this little secret from the rest of us?" Wufei asked his eyes narrowing slightly.

"Not to offend you or anything Wufei, but back then you weren't exactly the best person to tell about Duo being a girl and all." Heero pointed out, "As for how long . . . I've known about this since the war. Duo never told me . . . I found out by accident, found him sleeping in my bed one night bleeding and I tried to help."

A slight smile appeared on Sally's face, she must know what he was talking about because she seemed to be biting off a laugh.

"Bleeding? From what?" Wufei asked frowning slightly.

"_That's_ beside the point, Heero when was the last time you saw her?" Sally asked.

"Three years ago . . . she was walking out of the apartment I was sharing with Relena." Heero responded.

"And before that?"

"I saw her about two months before that . . . what's your point Sally?" Heero asked this time he was frowning at her abrupt change in questions.

"The time frame _seems_ about right . . . ." Sally whispered more to herself then to the two of them. Wufei frowned as well, not really following Sally's line of reasoning as well as he had hoped to. Sally looked at the two of them, her eyes widening as she realized that the two of them could not see what she did. _Men._ She rolled her eyes and got to her feet, moving to stand in front of Heero her arms folded across her chest. "Did you ever have _sex_ with her?"

Heero blinked, his face turning bright red in response to such a blunt question. "Once . . . why?"

"Did you use protection?" She replied calmly. Heero fidgeted at the question . . . to be terribly honest neither of them had thought about such a thing at the time. In fact they hadn't really been _thinking_ at all. "Teenagers . . . don't tell me you _don't_ see the connection!" She looked back and forth and sighed, Gundam Pilots they may have once been, the best of the best they once were but when it came to simple-everyday-_human_ instincts the two were definitely lacking.

"Duo left two years after the war ended, kept most of his ties with a few of us but other then that he completely separated himself from everyone. After a long time, he comes back to see you every so often right?" Sally looked over at Heero who nodded slightly just barely following her line of thought. "And out of all that time you only did it with her once right?" Again he nodded his eyes taking on the beginnings of understanding. "Ami-chan is three years old or at least she will be soon enough right?"

"Sally . . . you don't think . . . you _can't_ think that . . . ." Wufei shook his head as he spoke staring at Heero as if the man had suddenly grown a second head on his shoulders.

Sally smiled slightly as the two men finally saw what she had seen the moment she'd laid eyes on the little girl. She clapped Heero on the shoulders, her smile meant to warm, "Congratulations . . . it's a girl."

Heero blinked at her words, his mouth falling open in the most ridiculous way after a moment his mouth started flapping up and down muttering out stuttered protests. In his mind he remembered that moment from long ago, relived it as if it had happened just yesterday. "It . . . can't be Duo had his period that day!"

**A.C. 198**

The soft whisper of the cold breeze left his face feeling numb as he tugged his jacket tightly around him, glancing every so often down at his watch. The crowd in the park was nothing knew, even at this time of the season it seemed there was something that made people want to come out despite the chill. He heard that many found it romantic to walk in the frigid cold, but he truthfully couldn't see the delight in freezing ones ass off. Again he looked down at his watch and sighed, how much longer did he have to wait?

"This was all her idea, so why isn't she here damn it?" He couldn't help the irritation, being cold usually left him feeling edgy after a while. Sure he'd been happy when she called, had dropped everything and made his way down here as fast as he could but that didn't mean he was early. His eyes went to his watch for what seemed the umpteenth time before he got to his feet, she was at least thirty minutes late and that probably meant she wasn't coming. Just as he turned to leave a pair of slender arms wrapped themselves around his waist stopping him in his tracks. Heero didn't need to turn around to know that it was her; he recognized the feel of her against him and the distinct smell she always gave off.

"You're late." He replied remaining absolutely still.

"I'm sorry . . . ." Her voice was like silk whispering against his skin as she pressed her face into his back and rubbed her forehead against him.

"I was going to go home and have something warm to drink . . . ." He turned pulling himself from her grip so that he could stare into those deep blue-violet eyes of hers. A slight blush formed on her face, although if it was from the cold or something else he didn't know as he reached his hand out to her. "Want to come with me?" The look in her eyes could have melted him right there, that slight lift to her lips that showed more then she thought it did. A secret smile she showed only to him. Her hand fit easily into his as he led her towards his apartment, the cold air brushed against their faces but the fire that burned in their eyes stopped the cold from invading. Was this the reason that couples went out on those cold days? To defy the wind and the chill with the fire of their relationship?

Her hand felt warm as she stood behind him waiting for him to open the door to his apartment, she had passed by here a few times but never had the courage to go in. A sharp pain in her belly was the only thing killing this wonderful moment. As the door swung open a blast of warm air hit her like a wave as she was pulled into the apartment. She saw the image of a pristine kitchen, orderly and neat almost immaculate before her attention returned to Heero's face. His arms wrapped themselves around her waist pulling her close as his finger caressed the side of her cheek. Curious, her eyes turned towards the soft curves of Heero's lips, remembering the fire that those lips could light inside of her.

He moved slowly and she found herself following after him without even realizing it, entrapped by the sight of his lips and the warm feel of his arms around her. She didn't even notice when he led her into the bedroom. She could only remember the sensation of his lips as they pressed against hers. The feel of his hands against her suddenly bare chest, pinching at the sensitive nubs that were just starting to grow. Heero pulled back from the kiss and stared down at her chest in surprise.

"I stopped taking them . . . ." She whispered moving to cover the strangely painful things that had begun to grow where she had once been flat. A slight smile spread across Heero's face as he rubbed the tips of his fingers over the sensitive nubs.

"When did they start growing?" He asked fascinated by the sight of them growing hard between his two fingers. Duo shifted beneath his touch a moan escaping past her tightly clinched lips, a bead of bright red blood appeared on the corner of her mouth and Heero moved to lick it covering her mouth with his as he continued to play with the hard nubs of Duo's breasts.

"Ahh . . . Heer-o . . . don't . . . . Ahh!" Duo's moans sent shivers down his spine as he pushed her backwards into the bed. One hand rubbed at her breasts as the other moved to unbutton her jeans. Duo seemed to respond to the slightest touch the softest sensation. Heero paused when her hands stopped him from pulling down her panties. "Don't . . . I . . . I'm bleeding again, it'll stain the sheets if we do anything." The quiver in her voice made his heart race as he moved to hover above her.

"I don't care." He whispered leaning down to kiss her hard on the lips. They were swept away in a tide of passion that neither could have stopped but both knew was long in coming.

He didn't know how he did it; he only remembered that he had somehow gotten back to his room without having any other problems. As soon as he shut the door behind him the room began to spin as he slid to the hard ground covering his face with his hands. How could he have been so stupid? The rainy day when Duo had appeared outside his class, the look in her eyes when she found out he was sharing his apartment with Relena . . . . Everything came painfully back into focus for him when he knew why Duo had disappeared from the world for so long. Heero sighed shaking his head he should be angry at Duo for not telling him, for not telling anyone else about what was going on.

"Damn it Duo . . . why didn't you just tell me instead of walking away?!" Heero clinched his fists together feeling his anger bubbling just thinking about everything that had happened so far. The image of Duo's retreating back was still fresh in his mind but now . . . now it was occupied by the sight of green eyes and long brown hair. How could that child be his?

Heero sighed propping his elbows on the top of his knees as he stared up at the ceiling wondering what life would have been like if he'd been there for it all? Duo's pregnancy, Ami's birth . . . what would it have been like to be a father? It was a curiosity that Heero couldn't imagine after all, he'd never had a father and doubted that Dr. J counted as one. What did he know about children? It was a concept he'd never allowed himself to dwell on, having expected to die in the war or in some kind of bloody battle. Now that concept was coming true, something he never imagined being was suddenly thrust into his arms.

"Okay . . . I'll call you if anything else happens . . . yes – no – yes . . . okay then . . . . If I need any help, I'll call you okay?" Wufei sighed as he hung up the phone and looked up to see Sally standing in the doorway.

"Ready?" She asked with a slight tilt of her head.

"As ready as I'll ever be. I wish we could tell Heero about this." Wufei replied getting to his feet, he reached over to the bed and picked up his jacket.

"I feel the same way Wufei, but you know as well as I do that we can't . . . he's got enough on his plate without adding to it." Sally replied softly as she helped him into his jacket, wrapping her arms around him. Wufei shook his head he understood what she was saying and a part of him agreed with what she was saying but . . . after last night he wished he didn't. A knock on their door alerted them to reality a lot sooner then he wished. "Let's get this over with."

He couldn't help but wonder . . . was it already too late? Would they honestly be able to put an end to a fifteen year old grudge before anyone got hurt? Sally put a hand on his shoulder and he looked up at her the questions still plaguing his mind.

"We'll do what we can but we can't promise anything . . . ." Sally reminded him with that stern voice of hers. Wufei nodded, he understood the role they played better then anyone else he just wished it didn't have to be this way.

"You're right we should get this over with." He replied calmly. He made a promise five years ago to a little girl that he would up hold the peace that everyone worked so hard to obtain. He would keep that promise even at the cost of an old friend.

Author's Note: I'm sorry it took so long to get this out, I've got summer classes and finals were a itch if you know what I mean! If you feel the story's lacking anything feel free to comment on it! I really appreciate everyone who has stuck to reading this story and hope that it's everything you wanted and more!


	5. Chapter 5

**Lies**

Disclaimer: I don't own the Gundam Wing Characters so please don't sue me for borrowing them . . .

**A.C. 197**

The door slammed shut with a loud _bang_, the outside screen flapped in the wind and all he could do was to stand there staring at it. The world seemed to come to a stand still for him, everything shrinking until the only thing he saw was that door, that damnable door. Why couldn't he move? Why didn't he go chasing off after her? His legs felt like jelly, his mind like over cooked potatoes.

"Heero?" The sound of Relena's voice broke through the fog in his mind and he turned to face her running his hand through his hair as he did.

"What the hell are you doing here Relena?" Heero sighed finding his voice at last. The fire he'd felt a moment ago was gone all that remained was irritation at the whole thing.

"I thought you might need some food, Trowa gave me the spare key and told me to just drop by. He told me you'd be in school so I wouldn't have to worry about anything." She replied flinching slightly. She reached into her pocket and produced Trowa's copy of the key holding it out for him to see. "I didn't know you were home already, or that you were going to have company."

He shrugged off her unasked question and took the keys from her grasp, tossing it onto the kitchen counter as she began to empty the bag of groceries. He moved to put everything away, storing everything in their places inside the cabinets. He hated to admit it but Relena was right, neither he nor Trowa had gone shopping in a long time and the cabinets were almost completely bare. Although to be honest Heero had only given Trowa the spare key because technically they were supposed to be living together. Between going to school and Trowa's constant traveling, the two were barely even roommates.

"Did Duo seem a little . . . bigger to you?" Relena's voice broke through his concentration for the second time and he looked over at her. She was reaching up to put away the canned goods her eyes focused on what she was doing and not on him.

"No . . . not really." Heero replied. To be honest he hadn't be focused on Duo's whole body at the time, just the lips. She shrugged more to herself then to him and let the issue drop as she managed to stack the last remains of her shopping trip into the cupboards.

"If I didn't know any better . . . ." Relena laughed a little as she spoke, "I'd say he was pregnant."

The sight of the conference room filling up down below struck a cord in his chest at the memory of standing in just such a place countless times in the past. Even the blood red curtains were exactly the same as they had been from that time long ago. The only difference that he could see so far was the fact that this time he wasn't here to assassinate someone. This time he was here to protect those people down below at all costs. How he wished life was as simple as his job, then maybe he wouldn't be so confused about everything. Heero sighed as he let the curtain fall back into place. Resetting his ear piece just in time to hear Wufei call for him to check in on his position.

"Heero here, everything's clear up top." Heero responded into the small microphone strapped around his neck. Wufei cleared him and he settled into place without complaint as the systematic Chinese man moved onto the next check point.

Heero pulled back the curtain to stare into the rapidly filling crowd, his eyes finally landing on Relena's face. She was staring up as if she knew that he was watching her and a small smile spread across her lips when their eyes met. He didn't really hate her . . . he just didn't like that she was almost always there at the wrong place at the wrong time. Their 'relationship' was one of inconvenience but he'd been compelled not to kill her by something inside him. Even now he couldn't understand why he let her live.

Her eyes moved from him and he breathed normally once more, there was still that effect she had on him that he couldn't understand. Maybe he never would, at least not until he figured it out for himself why he felt the way he did towards her. It wasn't love, or desire, he'd felt both plenty of times when he was around Duo. No, the feeling Heero had towards Relena was different but somehow . . . it was the same. He had tried sleeping with her once, but that had ended sourly when he'd called out Duo's name just as he reached his peak. She had a boyfriend now, if the news was to be believed and there was talk of marriage sometime soon. Still Heero felt nothing for her and only cared because there was something inside him that did. He sighed shaking his head to clear the thoughts of Relena from his mind, he had bigger things to think about and none of them involved Relena. He had a bigger problem and it all began the day he'd stared into a pair of green colored eyes.

A slight noise broke through his thoughts and he looked around to see if anyone had walked in by accident. The silence in the balcony bothered him as he moved towards the doorway. There were only two exits on this balcony, one was the railing behind him, the other the door coming in. But strangely he didn't think the noise was coming from the doorway . . . then where? His senses had remained sharp even after the war and there was something awfully familiar about this sound, as if he'd heard something like it before.

He pulled out his earphone straining his ears to hear the sound even as he strained his mind to recall where he'd heard it before. Again the noise echoed just as his mind took hold of the elusive memory. Cursing, Heero put his earphone back on as he pulled out the small revolver strapped to his side. The sound was coming from above him, in the vents.

"Wufei, we have a problem." Heero whispered his eyes searching the dark for the ventilation hatch.

"Heero? What is it? Did you find someone?" Wufei replied from his end.

"The vents . . . they're in the ventilation shaft." He answered as his eyes centered on the hatch just to the right of him.

"Crap . . . I forgot about that damned thing. Heero don't do anything drastic, wait for back up!"

"Sorry . . . didn't catch that last transmission." Heero muttered to himself.

Pulling off the mic and the earphones, he leapt up to pull down the vent cover. His mind remembered the one person in the world crazy enough to use the vents, after all stealth was what the God of Death was all about. _Please God, don't let it be her._ He grunted a little as he lifted himself into the ventilation shaft crawling through the dust gathered along the bottom. He resisted the urge to sneeze in light of his current predicament and forced himself to crawl along through the dust.

She breathed out slowly so as not to stir the dust gathered around her, slowly pulling open the closed vent to peer down at the conference room stretching out below her. Everything was just beginning as the congressmen settled into their seats. Her target was conveniently sitting right in the middle on the highest seat. Taking a deep breath she angled her gun at the tip of the shaft, fitting it easily through the panels taking careful aim. She'd done this a million times in the past, had worked her ass of during the war to bring peace to the rest of the world.

_Nothing lasts forever._ She thought to herself as she steadied her hand closing one eye to center her focus on the target. It wasn't hard really since the man's head was pretty damned big to begin with, she probably could have done this in her sleep. She whispered softly under her breath, sending a prayer to God for the soul of her enemy. It wouldn't be long now; she could see the Preventers down below and knew that her plan would work.

By the time they discovered where the bullet had come from she'd be long gone, or at least a long way from here. She settled her heart and focused on the man she'd been hired to get rid of only then after this was over she wouldn't have to worry anymore. She pulled the trigger slowly her mind going blank at the mundane effort it would take to kill this man. Something warm wrapped itself around her ankle and pulled her roughly backwards just as the gun fired. Her last glimpse of the grate was of her target falling face down bright red blood spurting from his neck.

She grimaced at the sight of it knowing that the man would die, though quite painfully to tell the truth. Having him drown in blood was not the way she'd intended. She twisted around to face the person responsible for such an incredible mess up and froze at the sight of blue eyes glaring down at her. Heero looked away to stare through the grate and flinched biting his lower lip slightly as he looked away. His hands gripped her around her waist and the close proximity of the small vent kept her from moving around.

"Damn it all to hell and back!" Heero cursed softly under his breath as he glanced down at her then back the way he had come. She would have liked it a lot better if he wasn't so close to her, as a matter of fact she would have liked it if he wasn't near her to begin with. Duo glared up at Heero but the effect was ruined by their current position.

"Let go of me you thrice cursed bastard!" Duo cursed squirming a bit at the uncomfortable pressure being applied to his chest. _Damn, even after three years the stupid things feel tender!_ Heero glared down at her and she stopped moving under that gaze clamping her mouth shut. Of course the man still had that effect on her; it had only been five whole damned years!

"Damn it, damn it, damn it . . . why'd it have to be _you_?!" Heero cursed again running his fingers through his hair as he glanced around him. As if he'd see anything other then the silver lining of the vents.

"Sorry to _disappoint_ you . . . stubborn ass." She whispered the last two words with a frown. Heero looked down at her again, this time his eyes told her in no uncertain terms was she to try anything. As if she could _do_ anything in the small space they currently had between each other, a few years back she probably would have kicked him in the groin and damned be the consequences. Now, however . . . she had bigger things to worry about. After all the people she worked for weren't going to be happy about all this.

It wasn't until a little later, when she was standing on solid ground with her hands handcuffed behind her that she looked back at Heero with a steely glint in her eyes. The man really was infuriating. He just stared back at her with that deadpan look in his eyes as if he didn't care. _Of _course_ he didn't care._ The bitter thought made her heart clinch as she looked away, following after the three men charged with guiding her out of the building. He didn't care because that was the kind of man he was, five years had changed nothing of him on the outside what made her think he'd change on the inside. The one glimmer of light in her pain was that her target had died, it was finally over. But . . . was it worth the cost?

Heero watched with a twist in his heart as the three men led Duo away, he wanted nothing more then to run after them and free her. But he'd pledged his loyalty to the Preventers and he would have to remain completely still to keep from doing something he might regret later. A hand touched his shoulder and he turned to see Relena standing beside him, her eyes full of sorrow. The sight of Wufei and Sally standing behind her with their heads down made everything come crashing down around him. The world slipped from his sight and he found himself falling into that darkness the sound of his name following him into its depths.

"I want to know what went wrong!" The grim sound of her voice and the angry flash of her eyes told him that she would not like what he was about to say. George took a deep breath as he relayed the information he'd managed to gather before having to disappear. Standing beside him, holding onto his hand tightly was Ami. The small child had come but quite reluctantly to be honest, she wanted to know where her mommy was. The glimmer in her eyes frightened George more then the look in Calypso's eyes ever would.

"I don't know where they're taking her . . . ." He managed to choke out the last words somehow. Calypso's eyes narrowed and he felt a tremor travel down his body. In this organization, the men were considered expendable the women however . . . .

"I want her _back_ do you understand me?!" Calypso's voice echoed in his head as he nodded slightly resisting the urge to ask how he was supposed to do such a thing without getting caught. The transmission cut off and he was left alone with Ami beside him in the relatively small safe house.

"I want Mommy!" Ami declared as soon as the room when dark again. George glanced down at her biting his lip. Her eyes were a glimmering blue-purple color that seemed to see deep into a person's soul without even trying. The blend of colors made it difficult for anyone to look into, it was no wonder Duo had gotten her used to contacts at such a young age.

"Soon . . . but first you have to go to your father." George hated the idea but there was nothing he could do about it. Duo's instructions were for Ami to go to her real father if anything were to happen to her out in the field. Ami pouted slightly but seemed to accept his response without much of a fight. George sighed, turning to grab the bag behind him as he took hold of Ami's hand guiding the child out of the safe house back into the open. Everything was beginning to crumble but in the very least it was soon going to be all over.

Heero stared at the cold floor beneath his feet unable to really think past today's events. Relena, Sally, and Wufei had brought him back to his hotel room and were right now outside in the living room talking in hushed voices. He didn't care what they were talking about; all he knew was that Wufei was arguing that they do something the other two opposed.

"What's the worst that could happen?! He's already lost a lot, why do we have to keep him in the dark?!" Wufei argued his normally calm voice reaching new heights.

"We can't Wufei! Forget about what he might do, think about he _will_ do when he finds out!" Sally protested.

"He has a right to know! He's already involved!" Wufei argued back.

"What if we tell him a little about it first? I don't think he'd be angry then . . . ." Relena cut in, she was obviously beginning to sway towards Wufei's side of the argument.

Heero shook himself awake as the door slid open and Wufei, Sally, and Relena walked in one after the other. He had to admit he was curious about what they would say, but it was a small curiosity and not one he'd care to admit at the moment.

"Heero . . . about Duo . . . ." The look in his eyes must have been one of extreme anger because Sally faltered a bit from what she was about to say.

"She's fine . . . they've got her down at HQ, nothing's going to happen to her unless she doesn't cooperate with us." Wufei finished without missing a beat.

"That's supposed to make me feel better?" He asked tilting one eyebrow up. He'd put her in that position, Duo was a stubborn person it would take a lot of pressure for her to crack.

"Well, not really . . . we all know Duo's stubborn as hell when he - _she_ wants to be . . . ." The look in Relena's eyes made it clear that she was unused to the divine truth that was Duo Maxwell's life. "Don't worry though; I'm sure Lady Une won't do anything hard on her."

It nearly made him laugh, Duo had lasted weeks during the war when she'd been caught by OZ what made Relena think that she wouldn't last just as long? But the look in their eyes told him that the situation was far from hilarious. Whatever it was they were hiding from him, it involved Duo so he calmed himself and settled back to listen to what they had to say.

"Duo's a part of this organization that the five of us have been trying to track down. They're quite organized and to tell you the truth they're a lot harder to find then the ones we've run into in the past." Wufei admitted.

"Five?" Heero tilted his head to the side, if he counted Relena that made three so who were the other two?

"Trowa and Quatre are currently infiltrating the enemy's ranks, they haven't gotten very far but they do have a gist of what they're trying to accomplish." Wufei replied. "It seems that this organization is similar to OZ but run in a very different fashion."

"Why aren't Zechs and Noin in on this little operation? They follow Relena around like flies, what makes them unqualified?" Heero asked folding his arms across his chest.

"They can't know . . . I made everyone promise to keep my brother and Noin out of this." Relena replied calmly. "They've done enough protecting me I don't want to burden them." The determination in her eyes told Heero all he needed to know, whatever this organization was doing it was not easy to track.

"Then why haven't I been called in for this?" Heero asked knowing that he might not like the answer. They looked silent, their eyes not meeting his for a moment before Wufei finally answered.

"Two month's back Trowa and Quatre reported in that they'd found something . . . at first I didn't believe it but they'd sent me back a list of names for the top ranking people within the organization." Wufei looked over at Sally then back at Heero with a sigh, "Duo's name was the second from the top, it meant that she answered only to the leader of the entire thing. She was a new comer which made her status unthinkable to everyone below her. We have a feeling that Duo and the leader of this whole thing are somehow connected. They don't exactly call their leader by her real name but the name we got was Calypso."

"A Goddess of the sea, she plays tricks on men right?" Heero frowned slightly he couldn't remember anything else but the name had struck a cord in his memory.

"Duo's nickname in the organization was also listed . . . she was called Death." Relena replied calmly. Heero looked up at the sound of that name he'd heard Duo call herself that many times during the war. It only seemed right when considering the name of her Gundam but had she meant something deeper then that?

"We traced Calypso back as far as Operation M, but before that . . . there was nothing." Sally continued breaking through his concentration. "Apparently she was a part of the L-2 Colony group preparing the Gundam for launch. She disappeared soon after and has only recently reappeared in the last three years." Sally opened her mouth to continue but the sound of a hesitant knock on the door stopped her. They turned to stare back at the door a weary expression on their faces. Heero sighed getting to his feet to answer what had now become an insistent rap on his door he hated it when people did that.

"I'm coming damn it!" He cursed reaching for the door handle. He pulled it roughly open and blinked taking a step back in surprise.

Ami stared up at him, her once green eyes now blue-purple, her long hair braided tightly behind her. She was sitting on top of a large duffle bag with her hands wrapped tightly around a small brown teddy bear. Slowly, she slid off the bag and walked up to him, by now he had knelt to stare into those mesmerizing eyes of hers. She wrapped her arms around his neck and, without really thinking about it he lifted her into his arms as if he had do it a thousands times before. She curled up against his neck with a soft smile of content on her face.

"Daddy . . . I home." She whispered softly.

"Ami . . . ." Heero looked back at Wufei and Sally. The two stared at the child then at Heero, even knowing that Heero was her real father the sight was a shock to behold.

"Duo must have used contacts . . . to hide who she really was." Sally whispered moving closer to look into Ami's eyes. "There's no doubt now Heero . . . she really is your kid."

Heero felt his chest tighten in fright but looking down at Ami's face he somehow felt calm, holding her close he turned to face Wufei.

"Tell me what's going on." He replied calmly. He had never known such a strange feeling in his heart, but the sight of Ami's eyes made him determined to keep this feeling as long as he possibly could. It was akin to how he felt about Duo, but almost the way he felt about Relena . . . like a blending of the two. He wanted to protect this small child, with his bare hands of need be.


	6. Chapter 6

**Despair**

Disclaimer: I don't own the Gundam Wing Characters so please don't sue me for borrowing them!!!

**A.C.198**

"How about this picture Ami-chan? Do you know who this person is?" The gentle sound of her mother's voice made her giggle as she lifted the picture up to peer at the one her mother pointed to. His hair parted so that only one bright green eye peered back from within the frozen picture, made her smile as she touched the flat photo.

"Unki Trowa!" She squealed in delight. She knew all these faces as if she had known them all her life; the pictures seemed to animate themselves whenever her mother spoke about the people in them. She pointed towards the man standing next to her 'Unki Trowa' and clapped bouncing joyfully atop her mother's lap.

"And who's that my little one?"

"Unki Catra!" She laughed pointing to the next person in the photo, a black haired, black eyed boy with a sour expression on his face. "Unki Ufei." She laughed again jumping excitedly; this was her favorite photo out of all the ones her mother showed her because this one had the one picture that always made her mother smile slightly. Everything else just left this pained expression on her face, and a few were torn so that one face was always missing.

"And who's this one baby?" Her mother whispered holding her close.

"Dat one's Daddy." She answered with a wide smile. She knew his face like she knew her mothers although like the others in the photo she had never actually met any of them. "Mommy? When's daddy going to come back?"

She didn't see the look in her mother's eyes, the tears threatening to pour over all she could see was the man in the photo, his expressionless blue eyes the exact opposite of her mother's.

"When daddy comes for you Ami-chan . . . mommy's going to have to go away for a little bit, but don't worry . . . daddy will take good care of his little angel I promise." The way her mother's voice cracked at the words, the pain she felt inside at the thought of leaving made her wish her father would never return. She wanted to stay forever with her mother, to learn everything her mother knew so that one day . . . one day soon she could protect her mother from the mean lady.

**Present day**

Heero watched the small child as she made her way around the apartment crawling over everything in her exploration of this new home. The way her long hair swayed behind her reminded him of Duo and he wondered if this was how Duo had looked at that age. Sally and Relena occupied themselves with watching over the wandering three year old while Wufei had started filling him in on what was going on. From what the five of them had gathered, this organization had a lot to do with looking as disorganized as possible without attracting too much attention. It was this ploy that made them so hard to track, it had taken Trowa more then a year to find them and infiltrate them as well as he has.

Everything centered on the five leaders, the ones with the most control and therefore the most dangerous of the bunch. On a lighter note, it seemed that Duo just so happened to _be_ one of those 'higher-ups'. It was difficult to understand the former pilot's position within the organization but Heero was beginning to see that there really wasn't much information to begin with. They were so well hidden, so well organized that it seemed impossible for anyone to infiltrate that far up the ranks. It was almost like they were trying to infiltrate a smarter more resourceful version of OZ.

Suddenly a pair of hands wrapped themselves around Heero's arm and he looked down to see Ami staring up at him. Almost without thinking he bent to lift her onto his knee it was almost as if he were doing things unconsciously whenever she was around him. Yesterday he would have dreaded the idea of having such a large responsibility but today . . . it seemed almost second nature.

"She seems to have taken a liking to you Heero, almost as if she's known you her whole life." Sally smiled as the two women joined them. Heero shrugged slightly, he didn't understand it himself, the first time he'd seen Ami she had cried her eyes out at the sight of him.

"Why can't all men be like that?" Relena sighed, "Pete won't even _discuss_ children just yet."

Sally's smile widened as she patted Relena on the shoulder, "I suppose most men just have a natural knack for dealing with children."

Heero looked doubtful at those words, in fact he suspected that it was Ami who was doing everything he was being praised for. The blue-purple eyed child stared up at him with innocence in her eyes but there was something else he could see inside them. It was almost as if she knew him, as if the three years had never happened and she had just been waiting all this time for him. It wasn't an unpleasant thought, but it wasn't a great one either when Heero thought about it. What had Duo told Ami about him to make her so trusting of someone she'd only just met?

"I think we should go see Duo, if she's in this organization then I want to know what's going on before something happens we all might regret." Heero replied calmly turning his gaze towards Wufei who nodded quietly.

Nothing felt right, staring down at the silver wrist cuffs they had placed on her she was reminded of the times she'd been captured during the war. The only difference was that this time she was stuck in a cold cell alone, waiting for something to happen before she died of boredom. How long had she been in here? An hour or two she supposed, time always seemed to pass differently whenever you were trapped. So it was with great pleasure that she heard the sound of a key turning the lock on her cell door. And with great dismay at the sight of the two people who walked inside as the door swung opened.

"What the hell do you want?" Duo spat pushing herself up onto her feet.

Wufei raised an eyebrow at her tone and she rolled her eyes at him, willing herself not to see the second man standing in the cell with them. Heero stood with his hands at his sides and a blank expression on his face. Not only had he captured her, it seemed Heero was intent on making her suffer through his blasted presence.

"We want you to tell us who Calypso is." Wufei answered calmly. Duo scoffed sinking back down to the ground with a chuckle. Did he really think she would tell them anything? Or that she even could?

"Also, we brought someone in to see you." The sound of Heero's voice made her heart freeze, her throat clinch as the two stepped aside to let in a third person.

Ami's face burst into a bright smile at the sight of her mother, the tiny hand that had held tightly onto Heero's let go instantly as she took a step foreword. Duo felt as if her heart was slowly being broken in two.

"Get - out." Duo forced the words past the lump in her throat pushing herself back onto her feet. Ami froze a hurt look in her eyes at the sound of those words, Duo had never spoken so harshly to her before and she took another hesitant step foreword. "GET - OUT! I don't want you, I never did!" The child flinched as if she'd been struck and tears welled up in her eyes as she looked from her mother to Heero and back again. "You heard me! LEAVE!" It hurt, it hurt so damned much to say those horrible words and all she really wanted to do was to rush over and quell the pain in those beautiful eyes that gazed at her with such betrayal behind them. Ami spun around and raced out of the cell the sound of her crying voice too much for Duo to bear but she remained absolutely still fighting the urge to run after the child. _It's for the best._ The thought was not a comforting one, neither was the look in Heero's eyes as he turned and raced off after Ami his voice calling out to her in a soft tone.

"_Why_?" Wufei's voice whispered softly as the Chinese man looked at her, "She's your daughter . . . why would you do say such a thing?"

"_Shocked_? The kid was a nuisance from the day she was born . . . its better this way." She replied in a steely-flat tone. "You said it yourself Wufei . . . women are weak, wasn't that the words you used to preach during the war?"

Wufei moved so suddenly that Duo flinched as the Chinese man grabbed her roughly by her shirt and slammed her against the wall. _It was better this way._ Duo reminded herself as she forced a smile past the pain in her chest. She forced the words past her throat even as she wanted to break down and cry.

"_Touchy_ . . . don't like being ridiculed oh _great_ one? I wasn't the only one to betray the others after all, maybe you know what it's like to be on the other side of the fence now." Duo chuckled feeling her heart break with every word she spoke, "Why don't you go run to your own mother and . . . oh, that's right . . . your entire clan _died_ didn't they? Didn't they die because you couldn't protect them? Because you were _weak_?" She saw the hit coming and braced for it hiding her pain behind a course laugh. Wufei glared at her as he let her go and turned to walk out of the cell. "Hey, Fei . . . you should learn to _protect_ the ones you love maybe then they wouldn't have died so horribly."

The door slammed shut behind Wufei and it was all she could do to keep from collapsing inwards from the pain. Wufei's punch was nothing compared to the feeling inside her, nothing could have been worse then what she had just done. _I didn't want this to happen._ Tears rolled freely down her cheeks and she let them, reveling in the fact that she still had a heart. _It's for the best . . . then why does it have to _hurt_ so goddamned much?_

He held the weeping child tightly in his arms unable to think of anything that might quell the pain he imagined she was going through at that moment. Heero cursed himself for a fool for even bringing Ami with him into the room where Duo was being held. The sound of Ami crying only solidified the feeling in his heart. He loved Duo, and it was becoming clear that he loved Ami as much as he loved that braided idiot. By the time Wufei caught up with the two of them, Ami's tears had subsided into near silent hiccups. The look in Wufei's eyes was all Heero needed to see in order to know that they weren't going to get anywhere questioning Duo.

The Chinese man was cursing under his breath in the soft whistling sound of his home language as he approached them. His dark black eyes flared in pent up anger and frustration, things weren't going as they had first hoped they would go. Heero sighed, rubbing Ami's back gently as he got to his feet.

"Could you take her for a moment, Wufei?" Heero asked gesturing towards the child in his arms. Wufei looked at Heero for a moment as if the other man were crazy before consenting, taking the now sleeping child in his arms as carefully as he dared. "I'll be right back . . . ."

"Heero . . . don't do anything stupid now." Wufei warned shifting Ami into a somewhat comfortable position as he watched Heero walk back the way they had come.

"It never crossed my mind." Heero whispered as he disappeared down the hall. It was Wufei's turn to sigh as he craned his neck back to peer into Ami's face; he'd felt the child's pain as sharply as if it were his own. Being torn from her mother in such a cruel way, he didn't blame the child for crying herself to sleep.

The cell door opened again and this time only one person stepped inside, Duo brushed away the tears quickly as she sat up slowly. Her eyes focused on the sight of Heero reaching up to disconnect the camera, one of four monitoring her.

"What are you doing?" She whispered moving to one side as Heero moved to the next camera and the next until all four were disconnected. Slowly she pushed herself upright glaring at him as he worked.

"I'd say they won't come down this way for another hour or two." Heero commented as he took one of the seats in the room and turned it towards the door shoving it under the door knob. "And _that_ should give me another half hour."

"For what? You know damned well I'm not going to talk, so what's the point of your elaborate -." Her words cut off as Heero pushed her back against the wall.

She'd forgotten how fast Heero could move when he was angry or agitated, the sight was no less breathtaking now then it had been during the war. Heero moved with such precision that it was almost poetic, one hand held her fast while the other clasped her wrists to the side. It was painful, and exciting at the same time. Being so close to him, it made her head spin just staring into his eyes, those cold expressionless eyes of his.

"Let – me – go!" She cursed trying to wrench her wrists free of his grip. Heero's face was so close . . . she could see the blend of color in his eyes that had always fascinated him.

"Why did you do it Duo?" Heero's voice whispered against her neck and she shivered struggling harder to get away.

"Wha-What are you – doing?" Duo gasped twisting beneath Heero's grasp as his free hand traveled lower over her breast.

"Why?" Heero whispered against the nap of her neck and she twisted once more trying to break free.

"Let – let go!" She didn't want this, she didn't want any of this but her body responded no matter what she wanted.

"Tell me . . . why did you do it?"

Her heart was breaking, tearing itself in two listening to the sound of his voice and tears began to stream down her face as she sank to the floor. Heero followed her down without missing a beat, again his free hand caressed her breast and again she gasped against the pleasure it brought. _No! She didn't want this! She didn't want this!_ But her body didn't care what she wanted; it only cared about the sensation, the heat that pulsed through it.

"Where is Calypso? Tell me . . . ." Heero whispered.

"I – I don't – know!" She gasped as Heero's hand found the space between her shirt buttons and slipped inside. The warm feel of his palm against her bare breast made her shiver uncontrollably. Tears rolled down her face as she shook her head, biting her lip against the moan that threatened to escape.

"Answer me Duo . . . ."

"St-Stop! Heero . . . please – I – I don't – I don't know where – I can't – She'll kill – Ami – please Heero . . . st-stop . . . ." Her mind felt like it was going to explode, her heart felt as if it were being torn to shreds.

Suddenly his hand was jerked away, the feel of him beside her was pulled back and the heat subsided as she curled herself into a little ball. The sound of someone screaming echoed in her ears and for one brief moment she wondered who it was. _Is that me?_

"You damned IDIOT! What the fuck were you _thinking_?!" Wufei's fist connected with Heero's jaw as soon as he caught sight of the other man being led out by two other Preventers. Wufei grabbed Heero by the shirt and shook him. Heero grunted but he didn't speak as the other two stepped aside without question in the light of Wufei's obvious anger. Sally pushed pass the four of them rushing into the cell where Duo's screams could still be heard. "You nearly _raped_ her you asshole! I didn't bring you into this damned thing so you could go in there and _rape_ an old comrade!"

Wufei cursed wanting to hit Heero even harder when he saw that blank look in the other's face. What had the man been thinking?! Wufei felt the guilt of it riding down his back, the moment several of the watch officers had raced past him towards Duo's cell he knew something had gone wrong. Luckily, he handed Ami over to Relena before following after the guards; the child had seen enough horrors in her life she didn't need to hear the sound of Duo's screams. Worse, they'd had to pry Heero off Duo and by the time they'd managed that Duo had started to scream.

"Damn it!" Wufei cursed striking out against Heero one more time before he finally released the other man. Heero collapsed to the floor as if Wufei's grip was the only thing keeping him upright. The Chinese man cursed again rubbing at the back of his neck as he paced back and forth in front of Heero. Judging by the sound of Duo's screams it would take a while for the medic's to calm her down, if they didn't do it with drugs that is. "What were you thinking?" Wufei whispered glaring down at Heero. He was just as frustrated with Duo but at the very least he hadn't tried to rape her to get the answers he wanted. He gestured towards the other two men and they left without question, perhaps happy to be away from the two of them.

It took the better part of a half-hour for the drugs to fully settle into Duo's system, the braided girl had one hell of an immune system. Sally sighed as she helped the other nurse lift Duo into the cot pulling the sheets up over the still trembling body. It made her sick to think about what Heero had done to her, tears stained Duo's face even in the drug induced sleep. She doubted very much that Duo found any relief in her dreams. Stepping out of the cell, she shut the door behind her flinching slightly as she heard the lock click into place.

"How is she?" The sound of Wufei's voice made her turn slowly, how could she tell him that the truth was they didn't know? Physically Duo was fine . . . but there was nothing they could do about the trauma inside her heart.

"I – don't know . . . ." She turned to see Heero sitting passively on the bench and glared down at him. "I hope you got what you wanted out of that little stunt!" She wanted nothing more then to strike out at Heero but she saw the fresh bruise forming on the others face so she left it at that.

"Will she be alright?" Wufei asked softly drawing her attention away from Heero for a moment.

"I suppose she will . . . personally I wouldn't mind castrating -." Wufei held up his hand for her to stop and she took a deep breath. "She should be fine . . . 'should be' being the operative word. I don't suppose anyone could die of a broken heart, but after what _he_ did . . . ." She stopped again and took an even deeper breath. "I just don't know Wufei."

"Is mommy going to be alright?" The sound of Ami's voice made them all turn to see her standing beside Relena with an innocent look in her eyes.

"She wanted to come . . . I just couldn't tell her no." Relena explained somewhat weakly.

"Mommy's hurt isn't she?" Ami whispered softly. "She's hurt because she's trying to protects me right? It's my fault right?"  
"No . . . darling it's not your - ."

"Calypso threatened to kill Ami if Duo didn't do what she was told to do." Heero's voice plunged the hallway into silent darkness as he stared at Ami.

Ami blinked and looked down at her feet for a moment before looking back at Heero, nodding her head just ever so slightly. "Calypso said that if mommy didn't kill the man then . . . she would hurt mommy." The small child fidgeted from one leg to the other.

"How?" Heero asked it was as if the two of them were the only ones existing. "How was Calypso planning to hurt mommy?"

Ami looked over at Heero, her eyes devoid of all expression. "She was going to kill Daddy and Ami."

"How?" Heero repeated the word getting to his feet, his fists clinched tightly at his sides. The idea of being threatened without knowing it made his blood run cold; that he had been used to gain Duo's cooperation was just as horrible.

Ami let go of Relena's hand and moved to stand in front of Heero, "Will Daddy save Mommy if I tell?"

Heero swallowed around the lump in his throat, he had done nothing to protect Duo . . . had nearly raped her to get the answers he'd required. Nothing he'd done so far had been right, what could he say in light of such an innocent and pure question?

"I'll . . . I'll do my best." He whispered softly.

"Then Mommy will die . . . ." The sound of Ami's voice was nothing like any of them had ever heard it was as if she were several years older then the three years she actually was.

"Die?!" Wufei took a step foreword but Sally stopped him, this wasn't for any of them to interfere, it was for Heero and Ami alone.

Heero bent low until their eyes were level. "I will protect you Mother, at any cost, I will protect her."


	7. Chapter 7

**Caged**

Disclaimer: I don't own the Gundam Wing Characters so please don't sue me for borrowing them . . .

She let out a scream as she sprang awake, her head spinning from the sudden movement as she fell to the cold hard floor in an effort to untangle herself from the blankets. Duo cursed as she finally managed to free herself from the wrappings, shoving the damned thing away as she climbed to her feet. _The scenery hasn't changed._ She sighed rubbing her fingers against the back of her neck. The memory of yesterday was still fresh in her mind and she shivered rubbing her arms to quell the rising chill that surrounded her body.

_I have _got_ to get the hell _out_ of here . . . ._ It wasn't impossible; escaping from some place like this . . . it just wasn't going to be all that easy either. Wufei and Heero knew her well enough to see that the room she was put in had absolutely no vents, and the door she figured had to be locked and scanned from the outside in order for it to open. Even with yesterday still fresh in her mind, Duo remembered the one good thing about it. Ami was safe, she knew that even if Heero didn't know the truth about Ami then at least her daughter would be able to live a normal life.

As she turned to stare up at the cameras she forced herself not to sigh in frustration, it seemed like everything was going horribly wrong and she didn't know what to do anymore. Yesterday her heart felt as if it had been ripped to shreds and left for her to pick up the tiny pieces, today . . . today she didn't even want to think about her heart anymore. Five years of running had done nothing to improve it, all she wanted to do was escape and hopefully end those five years of torment once and for all. The door swung open so suddenly that she flinched and spun to face whoever had opened it. The sight was not something she was prepared or willing to face, as Relena stepped into the room.

"What do you want?" Duo asked folding her arms across her chest. Relena smiled slightly, a small smile that made Duo want to punch her.

"I met Ami . . . she really is a beautiful child." Relena replied.

"Really? She was horribly ugly when I gave birth to her, bald with purplish skin screaming her head off as if we'd done something horrible to her." Duo answered settling into the cot which served as her bed.

"Is that so? Well . . . she seems to have turned out alright now, she's got a full head of hair and she's not purple anymore." Relena smiled as she spoke folding her hands neatly in front of her.

"So, I assume you're looking for Calypso too?" Duo laughed not even noticing the look in Relena's face, "Hope you never find her . . . she's the last person _any_ of you are prepared to face. Even you, little miss Queen." Duo chuckled as if she'd just told the biggest joke in the world lifting one of her feet just ever so slightly to stretch out the kink she imagined was there.

"And why do you say that?" Relena asked calmly.

"Heh . . . can't tell you Queeny, if I did then I might was well hold the gun to Ami and Heero's head and pull the trigger myself." Duo smiled slightly, "It'd be easier for all of you to just let me go."

"We can't do that . . . you killed a man."

"He deserved it."

"That's not up to you to decide."

"If not Death . . . then who?" Duo quipped her smile widening. Relena seemed to take a step back one hand held in front of her as if she were planning to defend herself.

"If I were you, Queeny . . . I'd get Quatre and Trowa out of there before something bad happened to them." Duo looked over at Relena, "You wouldn't want their death's on your hands now . . . would you?"

Relena took another step back the look in her eyes was almost enough to make Duo wish she could take the words back. Duo turned away as the door swung open and Relena moved towards it, she paused in the doorway and turned to look back.

"Duo . . . if you do care about Quatre and Trowa, couldn't you at least help us?"

Duo laughed and even to her ears it sounded cold and emotionless, the kind of laugh Heero used to give whenever he was in the heat of a battle. "What the hell makes you think I _care_ about any of them?"

Relena flinched as she shut the door behind her leaving Duo alone in the silence once more. Duo sighed tiredly she hated being locked in a cell when there was nothing to do. Her eyes traveled towards one of the cameras and she sighed again getting to her feet to stretch. If she couldn't find a way out of the cell, then she might was well enjoy the silence as long as she could. Duo shrugged off the nagging feeling in the back of her head and slowly began to unbutton her clothes.

Wufei pushed open the front door of Duo's home and stepped inside with the others following close behind. Ami gave a squeal of delight as she raced off in a different direction then the others with Heero following closely behind. Wufei turned towards the two Preventers he'd brought with him. He hated that they'd had to bring Ami but Heero had made a good point back at the hotel, Ami had to know more about Calypso then anyone else they had.

"Okay, we're going to have to search the place again, from top to bottom, remember Duo was once a former Gundam pilot that means she's good at hiding things." Wufei replied as he ordered the two to begin looking.

Down the hall, Heero watched over Ami as she dug through her toy box, showing him all the different kinds of toys she had. Yesterday the child had scared all of them, the tone of her voice had sounded so much like Heero but the way she spoke reminded him painfully of Duo. The sight was something that Heero had worried about, if this child had never known who he was then how . . . . Heero shook his head to clear the thought from his mind he couldn't worry about things like that until after he'd saved Duo.

"Daddy . . . look, mommy made this for me." Ami lifted something heavy from the toy box and Heero moved close to see what it was.

It looked like a small metal sphere with different pieces placed together at odd angles, in the middle (or what he assumed was the middle) was a small rectangular screen. Ami pushed something on the sphere and a low buzzing sounded from the sphere, on the screen appeared a set of numbers which began to count backwards from 999. Heero froze as he realized what it was Ami was playing with. _It's a fucking bomb!_ Heero made to grab the 'toy' out of Ami's hands but the girl was quicker leaping away with the toy clinched tightly in her fingers.

Her strangely colored eyes were locked on the numbers as her fingers danced over the different sides of the sphere. It was mesmerizing, Ami's fingers moved so fast that it reminded Heero an awful lot of how Duo worked. He'd seen Duo assemble and disarm a bomb once before, but Ami was different. It was no less poetic with Ami then it was with Duo but the difference was obvious. The buzzing stopped and Heero shook himself out of the trance grabbing the sphere before Ami could think to try again.

"Mommy made it so that it changes every time so that I'd have to figure it out on my own, isn't it fun daddy?" Ami smiled as she spoke and Heero couldn't think of anything to say.

"Hey, Heero . . . could you come over here and help us a bit? It seems we might have been wrong about Duo putting anything strange here." Wufei's voice interrupted Heero's thoughts as he turned to see the Chinese man standing in the door way with an exasperated look on his face.

"What's everyone looking for daddy? Can _I_ help too?" Ami replied as she bounced towards Wufei.

"I don't think so Ami . . . ." Wufei began but stopped when he noticed the thing in Heero's hands. "What the hell is that thing?"

"A home-made bomb . . . ." Heero answered calmly.

"Duo's?" Wufei sighed rubbing his forehead.

"Nope . . . that's _my_ toy, mommy made it for me, just like she made the special room." Ami answered.

"'Special room'?" Wufei glanced up at Heero but all he could do was shrug.

"Ami . . . could you take us to this room?" Heero asked. Ami nodded and raced back towards her toy box. The small child climbed inside and started removing the toys one at a time, thinking that she was searching for something else to play with Heero moved to stop her. "Not now Ami . . . we need you to take us to the . . . ." Heero stopped when he heard another familiar sound his mouth falling open when he saw Ami beginning to sink _into_ the toy box. _An elevator disguised as a toy box?_ Heero rubbed his neck as he quickly scrambled over the edge of the box and lifted Ami into his arms before sinking further into the floor.

A dim light flickered on as the lift came to an abrupt stop Heero blinked as his eyes adjusted to the slight darkness. He paused to let Ami down before stepping into the wide area beneath the house, more lights flickered on in response to his movement as the lift disappeared behind him. The room definitely belonged to Duo, wherever he looked he saw more and more piles of half-finished designs and pieces of machinery scattered here and there. He'd once asked Duo how she had ever found anything in this mess and she had smugly replied 'There's order in chaos.' Heero rubbed the back of his neck, he still couldn't understand Duo's rational, and a mess was a mess after all.

He spotted Ami sitting in the only clear area he could see so far, a separate area with a computer control setup. It amazed him to think that such a young girl had such a complete grasp on the concept of war despite the peaceful world she lived in. He moved towards Ami to see what she was doing, just as the lift returned with a rather flustered looking Wufei inside it. The Chinese man stared at the utter mess and shook his head things were just not going well for them it seemed. Heero shrugged the thought off as he came up behind Ami, the small child had turned everything on and was currently staring at something in her lap.

"Mommy always kept this with her . . . ." Ami whispered showing Heero the photo, it looked old and crumpled as if it'd been looked at one too many times.

The faded photo showed a group of kids standing in front of a large building, a few smiles dotted every other face but the photo itself seemed rather dated. Heero's eyes traveled over the faces one by one before landing on one particular face. It seemed that time could not disguise her no matter what. Standing a little off to the side and much closer to the only two adults in the photo, was Duo her long hair hanging loosely around her tiny form a large smile on her face. It was the kind of smile that Duo gave whenever she thought of something 'fun' to do.

"Mommy said that she would stop the bad men this time." Ami's voice interrupted Heero's line of thought and he turned to look down at the girl. "She always seemed so sad whenever she looked at this picture . . . but . . . ." Ami slid off the edge of the chair and shuffled under the computer consul, she returned a moment later with a frame photo the kind that hung in Wufei's room. "She always smiled whenever she showed me this one."

Heero blinked as he stared down at what was the last photo any of them had or would ever take together. The final farewell as it had turned out and all at Duo's request. It was a wonder that she had kept it for so long when she insisted on separating herself from the rest of them. Heero lifted the photo from Ami's hands to stare into the plastered smiles on all their faces, it wasn't exactly a charming photo but it was the only thing they had. Words were written on the very bottom of the photo in what was clearly Duo's handwriting.

_Never forget your friends._ Heero didn't know if it was Duo's idea of a bad joke, since she had obviously done just that, or if it had been written before everything had fallen apart. He frowned slightly there was something odd about the photo now that he looked at it. Something that set it apart from the copies they had. It felt . . . heavier then it should have even with the frame surrounding it. It was hard to tell but he thought maybe the photo seemed a bit . . . crowded in the frame almost as if there was something hidden beneath it.

Curiosity got the better of him and he flipped the frame over to peer at the back surprised to see another set of words written on the back. _Do you trust me?_ Heero's frown deepened as he pried the frame away from the photo causing a small disk to fall free of the frame. It clattered against the hard floor and Heero bent low to pick it up. Things it seemed were beginning to get more and more interesting. He turned around as he heard the sound of footsteps approaching him from behind, Wufei glared in irritation at everything around them but most of all at the disk Heero now held. Written in gold letterings with a sense of irony were the words, _To Whom It May Concern_.

"The plot thickens . . . ." Wufei replied with a tired sigh, "We might as well see what it's about although I doubt we're going to like it though."

Heero agreed things were confusing enough even without Duo's input they might as well give the disk a try and see what was on it. Ami seemed to have disappeared somewhere else but Heero doubted that the little one would get into any trouble down here. Taking the vacated seat, Heero stared at the computer consul in front of him switching it on. Wufei came to stand behind him focused on the computer screen in front of them as Heero inserted the disk into the drive. The screen flickered for a moment before the computer began downloading the information on the disk. A second passed suddenly they found themselves staring at a rather flustered looking Duo sitting on a stool glaring back at them.

"I don't remember inviting you guys down but then . . . I never have and you always seem to find a way back." Duo mumbled something that was inaudible as she folded her arms across her chest. "I don't have to tell you anything, this isn't _your_ problem after all." She crossed her leg one over the other and looked elsewhere as if intending to remain silent.

"But . . . I suppose you need explanations and this is the only way to give them to you without actually _telling_ you everything. Besides . . . everything's too complicated for the mind of men to understand." She smiled just ever so slightly and her eyes seemed to reflect that mischievous air about them that they always had right before she was going to do something bad. Heero wasn't sure if he missed that look or should feel weary of it and the video didn't give him a chance to decide. "By the time you guys even watch this I'd say that Calypso has already recaptured me."

"_What_?!" Wufei seemed to choke on the word as he leaned foreword.

"You should never have involved yourselves with her in the first place . . . in the words of the famous 'Perfect-one'. You're in over your heads." The smile was gone, replaced by sadness. "I'd ask that the two of you stop whatever it is you're doing but I figure that you won't . . . I know you too well to even consider telling you to stop, besides . . . it's already too late to stop." She bit her lip slightly and Heero sat foreword recognizing that little motion as a sign of turmoil. "Trowa and Quatre . . . I suggest you don't contact them anymore, they're gone as far as you're concerned."

"Trowa . . . Quatre? What the _hell_ is going on here?!" Wufei gripped the edge of the chair until his knuckles turned white. Heero motioned for him to remain quiet leaning foreword to hear more of what Duo was saying.

"I saved everything you'll need to know on this disk, but I suggest that you two give up on the three of us . . . we're already dead by now. Just do me one favor Heero . . . protect Ami, take care of her please?"

The screen went dead but not before Heero saw the tears streaming down Duo's face. He reached out to touch the screen and gritted his teeth; he wouldn't believe that Duo was dead. No way would he just give up on her not after he had finally found her. His promise to protect Duo no matter what remained and he would keep that promise. A small hand touched his and he looked down to see Ami staring up at him with the same resolve in her eyes.

They would save Duo and bring down Calypso for good.


	8. Chapter 8

**Birth**

Disclaimer: I don't own the Gundam Wing Characters so please don't sue me for borrowing them . . .

_Crack! Crack!_ The feel of the corded leather striking her hard across the back made her eyes tear as she bit back the urge to scream. Chains rattled as her body shook from the effort it took for her to remain upright. Her arms screamed nearly as much as her back and legs were but she shut them out, concentrating her will on staying conscious. If she so much as dared to faint it would only begin again and this time . . . this time she might not be able to recover as fast. It seemed like forever before everything stopped and for one split second she wondered if she had indeed lost consciousness.

"Untie her . . . ." The voice was cold, hard and entirely emotionless, drained of every sign of life. "Take her to the infirmary and have them look at her wounds but tell them_ not_ to do anything other then observe."

Hands moved across her body, removing her wrists from the chains with exaggerated tenderness and care. Without the cool metal to hold her up, her legs collapsed and she let herself drift off into that blissful darkness that had so threatened to engulf her earlier. The sound of that cold voice scolding whoever had released her followed her into that darkness but was quickly left behind. She didn't need to care about anything here, all she needed was a little rest that was all she ever needed now a days.

**A.C. 197**

Her keys rattled as she struggled to balance the two bags in one hand while wrestling with the back door to her apartment with the other. The wind blew her loose hanging hair into her face and she huffed trying to blow the strands away. Her dress softly caressed at her legs as she finally managed to get the door open. A grumbled protest in her belly reminded her that she had not eaten anything since that chocolate bar during her break as she roughly kicked the door open with her foot. Sliding inside, she placed one bag on the kitchen counter and flicked the light switch on. Shoving the second back onto the same counter she paused to take a deep breath rubbing at the bulge that had become her belly.

"You are the _most_ temperamental child I have ever had the displeasure of knowing . . . and you're not even _born_ yet!" She sighed when the only reply was a hard kick, "You must take after your father . . . I don't think I was this bad when _my_ mother was pregnant with me." She grumbled as she began to take the groceries from the bag and lay them out on the counter.

She was pleased to see that there was a little extra in her bag today and reminded herself to thank the Jennifer the next time she saw her. She wouldn't mention the kindness; Jennifer hated it when someone thought she was being kind. But she _could_ help the older lady by repairing the broken coffee machine down at the store. She hummed a soft song as she rubbed at her belly with one hand while the other unloaded the stuff in the bags. She didn't know what the song was but she could almost remember hearing it when she was little.

_Don't worry little one . . . I'm not going to abandon you._ The thought was a tender one which she clung to with fierce pride. The cheerful atmosphere was the only thing keeping her sane and the upcoming arrival. She didn't care if the child was a girl or a boy, though she secretly hoped for a girl, so long as no harm came to it. Her fingers slide towards one of the drawers reaching inside to grip the cold steel hidden just beneath it.

"Don't take another step . . . unless you want to die that is." She whispered the words in a soft hum as she pulled the gun free from its hiding place and turned to see the intruder standing with his hands in the air. For one split second she thought the man was Wufei, but then she noticed the way his hands trembled slightly and the watery look in his eyes. Wufei was many things but he certainly was not the kind to cry. "You picked the _wrong_ house to break into bud."

"Duo . . . ." The sound of _that_ name rang in her ears sending a wave of shock down her spine as the man moved to wrap his arms around her. "You're alive! Thank the God's your alive!"

Her mind reeled. She had not heard that name in eight and a half months, not since she had moved to this colony to start her new life. Her legs felt week and the only thing keeping her upright was her stiff back and the strange man's arms around her.

"Who . . . who are you?! And _how in gods name_ do you know _that_ name?!" She shoved the man away and aimed the gun at his forehead ignoring the look of hurt on his face.

"Duo? It's me . . . _George_! We grew up together . . . remember? I thought you were dead . . . so did the others . . . don't tell me you don't remember me!" In fact . . . .

The name had struck a cord in her heart and she backed up against the counter her hands shaking as her mouth fell open. The gun slipped from her grip, clattering to the floor with a loud _clunk._ Dread filled her chest as her eyes darted towards the door for one brief moment. The urge to run must have shown on her face because suddenly 'George' moved with the same kind of speed and agility she had always been known for. The gun clattered to the floor as she tried to run, his hands snaking around her chest as something covered her nose and mouth. A familiar smell filled her senses and she panicked kicking and clawing at the hands that held her straining to break free.

"It's going to be okay Duo . . . I'm going to bring you home . . . Calypso has been waiting for you." Horror filled her as the edges of her vision began to blur, tears streamed down her checks as her hands slowly relaxed of their own will. _Calypso has been waiting for you._ The words followed her into the darkness.

When she at last regained consciousness she found herself staring up at an unfamiliar ceiling decorated in a flowery patterned maroon color. A warm light spread across the room and the feel of something soft cradling her back told her that she most definitely wasn't in her home any longer. She moved with slow deliberation, one hand holding her belly in an unconscious effort to still the arguing child inside. She had yet to eat and it was obvious that her second mouth was putting up a large protest to that little fact. She would eat, after she found out where in the hells she was. The room was like something out of a fairytale, the walls painted in a warm brownish-red color, thick red carpets covered the floor.

An oak table stood beside the bed, a sofa, a fireplace (the source of the warmth), a lamp stood in the corner of the room, a round desk with two seats, and lastly a dresser. Her eyes turned towards the desk where a tray of food lay waiting, suspicion filled her. She didn't like not knowing where she was the memory of her kitchen still fresh in her mind. Slowly, almost clumsily she climbed to her feet pressing the ache in her back as she waddled over to the desk. Her belly grumbled loudly as she looked down at the food, a simple pasta dish the kind she'd been thinking of making when she'd gotten home but she forced herself to ignore it as she made her way towards the door.

It was locked, she figured as much but she had to see for herself. The room was glamorous but it was still nothing more then a fancy prison. Sighing, she moved back to the desk and stared down at the tray of food debating whether or not she should eat it. The grumbling sound of her belly decided it for her, if she was to be a prisoner there could be worse food to eat then what was on the tray. She pulled the chair close and slowly sat down breathing a sigh of relief as the pressure on her back was finally relieved. How women could ever think that being pregnant was a 'joy' was beyond her. She'd gained over a hundred pounds probably and the ache in her back and legs were just one of those so-called 'joys' but she understood the idea at least.

She had finished eating by the time the door to her prison swung open and two women stepped inside. Both had dark curly red hair, the latter one wearing a pair of glasses, their eyes a cobalt, almost purple color. A part of her thought she recognized the leading woman (the one in glasses) but the memory was foggy and still unclear. As the two came closer Duo felt her muscles tense almost reflexively, they didn't look like much but in her condition she wasn't taking any chances. The one without glasses took the seat across from her while the other one settled into the sofa to watch.

"Duo . . . ." Again with that name, she was beginning to hate that name. The one without glasses had spoken the name as if she were familiar with it.

"My name is Sara -."

"Sara O'Conner died four years ago; I find it odd that she'd still be alive to this day." The one with glasses had spoken and Duo felt a chill climb up her back.

"We know who you are so please, stop trying to lie to us Duo."

"Well . . . ." She relaxed or at least forced herself to relax, "If you know who I am then the least you can do is tell me who you are."

The two blinked as if they had not been expecting such a question, looking at each other as if they were unsure how to proceed. A frown spread across the face of glasses-girl and she shrugged her shoulders just ever so slightly. When they turned their attention back towards her she felt as if she was about to be scolded.

"My name is Karen, this is Calypso."

Again the name struck a cord in her heart and the desire to run filled her once more, she fought to quell the rising fear and gripped the side of her chair to keep from bolting. Although how far she could get in her condition she didn't know. The two didn't look too concerned about her reaction. In fact it almost looked like they expected it. She wasn't sure if she liked that idea or not. Karen, the one without glasses gave a slight smile as if trying to encourage her, but Calypso looked as if she was waiting for Duo to make a move.

"You know our names . . . but you don't remember us?" Karen whispered softly.

"I don't." Duo answered curtly. They looked confused at Duo's words staring at each other as if unsure how to proceed after what they'd heard.

"You're pregnant." Calypso replied in a calm emotionless tone which made Duo hold her belly as if to protect it. It was as if Calypso was a disapproving mother and Duo the child who had somehow managed to be the disappointment. Something about this 'Calypso' person made Duo's hair stand on end, she felt as if her skin was trying to crawl away. She glanced towards the door but pushed the notion of trying to run out of her mind, there was no way she could run fast enough the way she was now. Still, she wished the two would leave or at least let her go. The baby kicked as if in agreement, it obviously didn't like the one called Calypso any more then Duo did.

"When are you due?" Karen asked drawing Duo's attention back to her. The smile on her face made Duo feel relaxed almost flushed with pride.

"In a week or so . . . I'm not certain but that's what the doctors told me." She rubbed at the ache in her belly affectionately.

"You must be so happy." Karen replied getting to her feet. Duo watched her much the way a cat would watch a speck of dust floating down in a ray of sunlight. Something about this woman made Duo trust, made her relaxed enough to tell her anything.

"I am . . . I made a promise that I'd take care of it no matter what." Duo sighed, "Are you two going to let me go?"

"I'm sorry . . . we can't do that just yet." Karen whispered as she stood in front of Duo, "May I?"

Duo blinked for a second thinking about the question before realizing that she was talking about touching her belly to feel the baby's kick. She'd come across other women who seemed to have this adverse attraction towards Duo's belly and somehow or other she'd gotten used to it.

"Sure . . . she's kicking right now." A smile spread across Karen's face as she reached down and touched the bulge.

"It's going to be a girl?" Karen asked.

"Well, I don't really know . . . but -." Duo cut off squeezing her eyes around a sudden sharp pain which seemed to erupt from her belly.

"What's wrong?" Karen's voice managed to soothe away the strange pain and Duo shook her head.

"I . . . I don't . . . ." Something wet dripped down her legs and she gasped as another sharp pain raced through her body. Her heart felt as if it were about to burst from her chest, her legs shook as she looked down at her belly. _What is going on?_ She looked up at Karen her vision felt a little blurry and she shook her head. "What . . . what did you . . . ?" She got to her feet or at least she thought she had but the floor was all she really saw. Karen's hands moved to push Duo onto her back, soft fingers moving over her forehead.

"It's going to be okay, Duo . . . we won't hurt the child." Karen's words whispered over her and she shook her head to clear the fog that seemed to envelop her mind at the sound of it.

"Hurt . . . ? What . . . what did you . . . do to . . . me?" She felt her fear and angry rise up against this threatening calm.

"We forced your labor." Calypso's words struck her in the gut and she twisted her head to see her standing behind her with her arms folded across her chest. "We need _you_, not that useless child."

Panic filled her as she turned to look up at Karen. _I can't go into labor . . . not here!_ Pain laced through her and she gasped gripping at the sides of her belly. Her breath came in frantic gasps, she had heard that it would hurt but she never imagined it would hurt like this! Karen called out but Duo couldn't understand the words as the door swung open and four women dressed in lab coats stepped inside. _Doctors?_ Duo watched them as if she were watching something she didn't fully understand. The four women took their places near or around Duo, one women taking Duo's left hand in hers as she whispered words of encouragement.

Where these people crazy? She couldn't give birth on the floor like this! Another sharp pain laced through her body and she scream reflexively. More whispered words of encouragement made Duo stare at the women to her left as if she were crazy. No, they _were_ crazy didn't they realize that she couldn't give birth like this?

Hands moved across her body, taking off her panties and positioning her legs just ever so carefully. A pillow was placed beneath her and something was put to elevate her legs somewhat the four women moved with such purpose that Duo didn't really have time to protest. The pain was becoming more and more intense by the moment. The women to her left soothed away the strands of hair from Duo's face and continued to whisper words of encouragement and praise. For once Duo felt the urge to strangle this woman but instead used her hand to try and take the mind off her pain.

What was going on? She couldn't understand what was happening; in fact it still felt as if she was having some kind of horrible nightmare.

"You're doing just fine Duo . . . ." Karen's words whispered over her trying to soothe and relax. Duo shook her head to clear that cloud of serenity that threatened to engulf her, there was something about Karen that she didn't like right about now and the sound of her voice was fast becoming the reason. Why should she feel calm and relaxed when she was giving birth on the floor of a place she didn't even know?

"You should listen to Karen, Duo . . . it'll make this go much easier for you." Calypso replied calmly. Duo looked behind her; she'd forgotten the other woman was even in the room. "It'll help if you listen to her and relax."

"What are . . . you . . . talking about?!" Duo gasped around the fast coming pain.

"Her contractions are getting closer and closer, Dr. Karen . . . ." The woman to her left spoke but it felt as if she were speaking from far away.

"You should stop fighting us and start realizing we're not the enemy here." Calypso replied.

"The enemy . . . ?" Duo shook her head.

"We're just trying to help Duo . . . you just have to trust us." Karen answered. Again that feeling that she should relax filled her mind and once more Duo shoved it aside. Relax? Trust? Why should she do any of those things? Who were these women? "If we don't get her to relax Calypso she might die." Another sharp pain this one even more intense then the last. Die? She could die this way? What were they talking about?

"Damn it . . . I thought the drugs would stop her from fighting us." Calypso responded with a curse as she knelt down on Duo's right. She held Duo's head, forcing her to stare into those cobalt blue eyes so similar yet so different from hers. "Relax . . . ." It was more a command then a request.

Duo felt her body relax somewhat slowly and tried to fight it, struggling to break free of this strange feeling. Calypso's hands held her fast, her eyes gleaming with a spark of frustration as she repeated the word this time with much more authority then before. Slowly, Duo felt the pain drift away as her body fell under the spell of those eyes. Still a part of her fought against it, fought to keep the pain if only to remain sane. Calypso repeated the word forcing it past gritted teeth and this time the fight drained from Duo's mind. The sound of voices floated above her as if from far away and she thought she could make out what they were saying but it was all so far away that she felt she didn't care. Loosing herself in those cobalt blue eyes as if she were falling into the ocean she loved so much. Falling . . . falling without a care in the world.

The sound of something crying broke through the fog in her mind and she wrenched her head free of Calypso's hands turning to see Karen holding something distinctively human in her arms. The baby kicked screaming in protest to this new and obviously colder world that she found herself in. One of the women quickly wrapped her in a bright pink blanket rocking the still screaming child gently. Wonder filled Duo's heart as she stared at that pile of purplish flesh, so that was what all the fuss was about? That was the thing that had been living inside of her all these months?

"Would you like to see your daughter?"

She kicked out with a scream her eyes darting back and forth as she struggled to break free of the restraints. Men (Women?) in white lab coats hovered over her their faces blocked out by the blinding light which glared down on her. Their voices blended together for a while before she managed to piece together _where_ she was, her arms and legs finally relaxed. Duo sighed shutting her eyes against the glare which, evidently, someone finally had the brains to turn off. The sound of footsteps moving away did nothing to calm her, she was still as angry now as she had been that fateful day when George had taken her away.

The eerie memory of that day haunted her still; the surreal atmosphere that had permeated the air remained to this day. The feel of holding Ami for the first time had been something as close to a miracle as she could possibly get. The fussing bundle had quieted the moment Duo had held her. It hadn't gone the way she thought it would go, but somehow that didn't really matter. Ami had been her miracle, her saving grace as they would call it.

_And I pushed her away . . . ._ Tears threatened to roll down her cheeks at the thought, the heart break she'd seen in Ami's eyes had made her want to throw herself over a cliff. _It had to be done._ The words echoed in her mind and she gritted her teeth in frustration. She had pushed everyone away . . . everything she'd ever cared about was gone now, and all for what? Trowa and Quatre . . . Wufei and Heero . . . Ami . . . everything she loved was gone.

She shook her head and concentrated her mind on where she was letting the pain slip away. The infirmary had changed little since she'd last seen it. She lay in a comfortable bed wrapped in warm blankets with the sterile smell of a hospital filling her nose. There was still a slight sting where the whip had hit her but she could feel the wounds closing, before long there wouldn't be a single scratch on her. It was tiring, but healing was the easiest thing she'd ever been able to do. The sound of approaching footsteps caught her attention and she turned to see a red headed woman dressed in a lab coat heading her way. She recognized the woman immediately as Karen, the 'second-hand' of the ruling force that was Calypso.

"I assume you're healing well?" The difference in voices was the only thing that separated Calypso from this woman. The gentleness and kindness that was missing from Calypso's voice could be found in her. It was something Duo had learned to quickly distrust after that first day, even now the compelling feeling to relax drifted over her.

Karen, Calypso . . . the two of them and their strange ability to compel and control, neither of them could fully explain it any more then Duo could explain her ability to heal rather quickly. The answer to where they'd gotten these abilities had become lost over the years, drifting into forgotten memories and hellish dreams. They couldn't explain it, or understand how they'd gotten it all they knew was that it was there. The answer was there . . . hidden in the past that none of them _ever_ wanted to uncover.

"As well as I can . . . does she have to hit so hard?" Duo answered as Karen began removing the restraints.

"You should not have allowed yourself to be captured . . . ." Karen replied.

"And _she_ should not have used Trowa and Quatre. You _promised_ you'd leave them out of this . . . ." Duo replied sharply as she rubbed at her wrists, pushing herself to an upright position.

"You should not have allowed yourself to be captured . . . ." Karen repeated. "Calypso only does this because it _has_ to be done."

"No, it doesn't . . . ." She whispered. If Karen heard this she chose to ignore it, turning her attention to the red welts on Duo's back.

"They seem to be healing well . . . you seem to have gotten better at this Duo." Karen replied as she ran her fingers over the still tender skin.

"She used the _hard_ whip this time . . . I didn't have much of a choice." Duo answered.

"None of us do . . . ." Karen replied softly.

Duo sighed she was tired of all this, almost as tired as the others must feel at this time. All she wanted to do was go back to sleep but in dreams lay memories that she'd much rather forget.

"You should get some rest." Karen replied easily. The compelling words whispered over her but she fought it.

"I'll rest when I'm dead." Duo answered glumly. She doubted that even Death would come for her this easily, but it was a hopeful idea that she dared not let go.

"Calypso wouldn't have touched your friends had they not interfered." Karen replied switching the topic with practiced ease. "They tried to send a message to that Chang person, we caught one of them and the other one tried to launch a rescue."

"I suppose I should be grateful you didn't kill them, eh?" Duo asked with a slight sigh. She should know her former partners better then to think they'd give up so easily. Five years had changed nothing, least of all their willingness to protect. When had she given it all up? When had she relented and joined Calypso, and for what reason? Calypso's strange ability didn't affect her the way it had all those years ago, so why was she doing this? Had she not worked just as hard for this peace, shed just as much blood and tears to obtain it? Yet look at how willingly she had betrayed it all, her friends and the people she'd become close to over the years.

"How much longer is this going to take?" Duo asked tiredly, she wanted nothing more then to sleep forever and forget this world and all the problems it came with.

"Not much longer I suppose . . . you finished the last piece of the puzzle, all we need to do is end it." Karen replied softly, placing her hand on Duo's shoulder in an attempt to comfort, she shrugged it off.


	9. Chapter 9

**Trust**

Disclaimer: I don't own the Gundam Wing Characters so please don't sue me for borrowing them . . . .

It settled heavily in his mind as he sat staring out of the shuttlecraft window watching the deep darkness of space, which seemed far too vast and empty in his eyes. Heero sighed, a week had passed since the day they had found the disk left to them by Duo and in that week, nothing had happened. There was a lot of discussion and talking, a lot of debating with political figures and eventually . . . he was ordered to return home and wait for further orders. Their part of the investigation was just beginning but it would require a lot more information then what they currently had on hand. Heero scoffed, he knew why they were waiting the truth was they did not trust the information given to them by Duo. Even Lady Une and Sally had been skeptical uncertain that they should trust such a thing, considering who it had come from. Duo hadn't won anyone's trust with her display of outright rebellion; her actions spoke far louder then her words on that disk. But it would take _time_ to decide if the facts were right, time that Heero seriously doubted they had.

"Daddy . . . ."

A small tug at the sleeve of his arm drew his attention away from the window to gaze down at his daughter sitting beside him. Wufei and Sally had insisted that the little child remain with him since he was, after all, her father. The courts would figure everything else out eventually but until then, Ami was to remain with Heero. He had thought that he was used to the presence of the little girl but it still surprised him to know that she was there. She looked so much like Duo and yet it was her eyes that set her apart from both father and mother.

"Daddy . . . I need to go to the bathroom . . . ." Ami whispered fidgeting in her seat. Heero stared blankly at her, for a moment he thought that maybe he had heard her wrong but seeing her fidget in her seat, it was obvious that she meant it.

"Didn't I tell you to use the bathroom at the spaceport?" He asked.

"I did . . . ." She looked down drawing his attention to the six empty juice boxes stored in the pocket of the seatback in front of her. His only question was how Ami had gotten a hold of so many in the short hour they'd been in flight.

"Okay . . . let's go." Heero sighed unbuckling the two of them from their seats. Ami hopped out of her chair and rushed in the direction of the bathroom, all but knocking aside one of the flight attendants in her rush. Heero ran his fingers through his hair as he helped the poor woman back onto her feet apologizing as he moved past her.

"It's no problem really . . . she's a cute kid really." A smile spread across the attendant's face as she bowed and continued on her way.

Heero stood in front of the doorway unsure of what he should do, he knew Ami was potty trained already but he didn't understand a single thing about children so he didn't know what to do at this point. The lock on the door slid free and Ami stepped out a smile on her small face as she looked up at Heero.

"Finished?" Heero asked softly.

"Yes, daddy . . . ."

She stuck a finger in her mouth and looked up at him for a moment, as awkward towards him as he was towards her. After a moment, she reached up and took hold of his hand a smile spreading across her face, in her eyes he saw all the trust that this little child had placed upon him. The innocence and purity staring him right in the face was enough of a reminder of just why he'd fought that war five years ago. Heero knelt down and lifted the smiling child into his arms. In the weeks, they had spent searching for clues about the Organization of which Duo was a part of; Ami had steadily become dearer to his heart. The small girl had found a place deep inside which he had previously thought was dead and gone after Duo's disappearance.

She paced the confines of her room from one corner to the other without really, seeing where she was going but knowing that the room measured exactly ten feet in length and eleven feet in width. Duo sighed as she gave the barest of glances at her surroundings; the room was as beautifully furnished as an expensive hotel room. A large bed big enough for three, a large oak dresser, a standing mirror, two windows (both locked) a bathroom attached to this room which appeared big enough for ten people. Everything a vacationing tourist would want . . . the only difference, she wasn't allowed outside of this very glamorous very ritzy room. After checking the windows, which even if they weren't locked happened to lead into the black void of space, she'd discovered that the doors and vents were wired with electricity. If she so much as tried to open the door on her side or pry open the vents, she would most likely fry within a second and that was if she was lucky. This room was nothing more then a fancy little snow globe and she was nothing more then the decoration trapped within a bubble.

The door swung open as she was walking past the end of the bed and she glanced up to see who it was. Her heart ached when she recognized Quatre's face as he stepped inside carrying a tray of food in his hands. The blond haired man stared resolutely at the floor but even at this angle, she could see his eyes. Once vibrant and friendly, Quatre's blue eyes were now dull and lifeless. She stepped forward reaching out for him but he flinched and shuffled out of the way as if her touch might hurt. He quickly placed the tray on the dresser and all but ran out the door not once did he look up at her or speak. He was broken . . . the leftover remains of what happened to someone who faced off against Calypso without fully realizing what it was they faced. Tears rolled down her face as she sank to the floor.

"I tried to stop him . . . ."

The sound of Trowa's voice caught her attention as she turned her head to look up at the taller brown haired ex-pilot. Trowa stared down at her his eyes as clear as they had been the last time she'd seen him.

"Trowa . . . ." She whispered brushing the tears away as she pushed herself up onto her feet. Like in the past, where there was Quatre, one could always find Trowa not too far behind. Unlike Quatre, Trowa had somehow managed to survive his encounter with Calypso, but like always, he refused to leave Quatre's side and as a result had _willingly_ joined Calypso.

"He wanted to bring the food in." Trowa replied calmly nodding towards the tray, "You better eat, Calypso will punish him if you don't." The look in Trowa's eyes told her that if she didn't eat the food, he would personally shove it down her throat. He was still Trowa in the sense that this man called himself Trowa, but he did not care for Duo in the least not so long as Quatre was being used against him. If Duo was the cause of Quatre's pain, and it was obvious that she was, then Trowa would do anything to relieve it. The only thing he _couldn't _do was kill Duo, everything else would seem to be fair game.

Sighing, Duo moved towards the tray and uncovered it the sweet smell of food drifted upwards and she could feel her stomach rumbling angrily at her. She had spent the better part of a week throwing the food away and the thought crossed her mind once more. Trowa's hand closed over hers, turning her so that she faced him.

"Trowa . . . ." She flinched at the strength of his grip, new tears forming in her eyes as she tried her hardest to resist.

"You don't understand yet do you Duo? I've been forced to _watch_ as they torture him, they tie me up now so that I can't fight back but they make me watch as they do those things to him. Do you know when he finally stopped screaming? When he finally gave up?" Trowa's voice whispered in her ears and she shut her eyes as if she could lock it all out.

"Trowa . . . please . . . ."

"I'm _not_ going to watch it again; I'm not going to let them hurt him because they can't afford to hurt you." Trowa's voice strained over clinched teeth as he stared down at her, his eyes glimmering with anger. At last, he shoved her away, his fist clinched tightly at his sides as he glared at her. "Eat."

Duo felt her heart start up again as she turned to stare at the food, because of her . . . Quatre was being tortured? Her hand reached out to take hold of the fork as she slowly pushed the food into her mouth. Her tears would not stop no matter what she did and it actually felt as if her tears were coming just that much faster now that she was eating. As she shoved the last piece of food into her mouth, Trowa reached over and took hold of the tray.

"I'm sorry . . . ." She whispered softly under her breath as she leaned her hands against the dresser.

"Sorry won't bring Quatre back." Trowa replied icily. The door closed behind him as she sank to the floor her legs trembling so bad that she couldn't stand even if she had wanted to.

Trowa sighed as he stared down at the tray held in his hands; he hadn't meant to take it that far the look of pain in Duo's eyes looked so similar to Quatre's it had hurt. A shadow moved at his side and he looked down to see Quatre standing silently beside him. _I did a very bad thing Quatre . . . ._ He sighed softly; even if he were to speak, it was likely that Quatre would not respond with anything other then a blank stare.

"Looks like she finally ate everything for once." The voice caught him off guard as he jerked his head forward to see George standing in the middle of the corridor. The smug little smile on the dark haired man's face made Trowa's eyes narrow. Quatre whined softly as he shuffled to hide behind Trowa his blue eyes riveted on the form of his dark haired torturer.

"She ate everything, why don't you crawl back into the hole you came out of?" Trowa snapped angrily. George smiled slightly as he took a step towards the two, the look in his eyes was not one of disappointment instead it looked more like the man was pleased.

"Calypso doesn't know yet." He whispered softly his dark eyes glowing.

Trowa's jaw tightened at the words, he could feel Quatre trembling behind him and knew that the blond haired man would not be of any use if it came to a fight. The sound of something hitting the door startled the three of them and a loud voice echoed from the other side.

"I wouldn't if I were you George, Calypso's on her way down and she won't like the idea of you taking charge when she's not around." Duo's voice shouted clearly from the other side. "You know what happened to the last man to think he could out think Calypso . . . last I saw he was still kissing the ground where she walked like a good little doggy."

Trowa watched as George's jaw tightened slightly as he glared at the door.

"You lucked out this time, but I promise you . . . _she_ won't always come to your rescue." George snapped as he stalked past the two of them. As soon as the dark haired man rounded the corner, Trowa breathed a deep sigh of relief relaxing slightly.

"Is he gone?" Duo's voice was barely above a whisper but Trowa heard it nonetheless.

"Yeah . . . he's gone." Trowa replied calmly.

"Never did like the man, after he did what I told him to do he was pretty much free to leave the organization." She replied through the door, "He came back instead, not something a smart person would normally do if you ask me."

"No, I guess not." Trowa answered.

"Take care of Quatre for me will you? I'm just not strong enough yet to do something about all this." She sighed.

"I intend to." Trowa replied calmly.

"Hey Trowa . . . ." Her voice was so soft he almost missed it as he turned to walk away. "Don't underestimate Quatre . . . I learned a long time ago that the guy's a lot stronger then he looks."

Trowa walked away with Quatre in tow, he felt as if Duo's words had lifted a burden from him that he had been carrying for a long time now. Looking down at Quatre, he understood why Duo had done what she'd done. Despite the past they all shared, despite what she had said, Duo still cared about the rest of them. Deep down, the former pilot was remembering the bond that they, as Gundam Pilots, had shared during the war. They were like brothers, when something happened to one of them the others would rush to help. Duo was generally the first to appear when trouble came their way. This time would the four of them be enough to save their friend?

**Two Weeks Later**

A hand touched his shoulder and he jerked awake, his eyes adjusting to the suddenly bright light shining in his eyes. His mouth felt like cotton had been stuffed inside it as he stretched the sleep out of his system. His eyes came into focus to see Wufei standing over him with a frown on his face.

"Don't you ever answer your phone?" Wufei asked as he backed away allowing Heero to get to his feet.

"Don't you ever sleep?" Heero yawned glancing at the clock hanging on the wall above Wufei's head. The numbers flashed a dull green showing that it was at least 4 o'clock in the morning. Wufei's eyes turned towards the small bulge in Heero's bed and the Chinese man sighed.

"She's been with you for two weeks and you still haven't gotten her a bed of her own?"

"I got her a bed . . . she just doesn't like sleeping in it." Heero corrected looking back at Ami's sleeping form. The child curled in around the warmth left behind by Heero's body, her long hair stretching out behind her in a loose knot. Heero had yet to figure out what he would do with the tangled mess, he had considered cutting it all off but Ami wouldn't agree to such a change.

"Get dressed . . . Sally and Relena's downstairs waiting for us." Wufei replied calmly.

"Ami?" Heero asked.

"Her too, we need both of you downstairs right away." Wufei answered as he walked out of the room without once looking back, so how could he see the look in Heero's eyes? Heero glanced over in Ami's direction; he didn't like the idea of waking her up particularly because she was hard to wake so early. She shared her mother's disposition during the early morning hours, not to mention her attitude about being woken so early.

From downstairs, the other three stared up in alarm when they heard the high-pitched screech coming from Heero's room followed by a loud noise as if there was a struggle. Relena stared in astonishment; Sally held back her urge to laugh, while Wufei just shut his eyes and willed the noise away. When the two finally walked down the stairs, Heero wore a strained look in his eyes as if he'd been through the next war and lost. Ami followed after with red-rimmed eyes and a cranky frown on her face.

"She took after Duo in the morning routine . . . ." Sally whispered to Relena, she recalled the times when she had seen the pilots during the war and recognized Duo's attitude towards mornings mirrored on Ami's little face.

"Don't remind me." Wufei whispered to the two, he recalled vividly what had happened to him on one occasion when Quatre had asked him to wake the Deathscythe pilot.

"Well?" Heero asked looking around at the three of them, Ami moved to his side and he responded by lifting her into his arms. It was such an unconscious gesture by now that Heero hardly noticed it, and frowned when he saw the look of astonishment mirrored in the other three's eyes. "What?"

"Nothing . . . just . . . nothing, it's not important." Wufei answered shaking his head.

"Why'd you guys come here . . . for that matter how'd you get in my house?" Heero asked.

"HQ has a copy of your house key; we took it and headed over as soon as we were certain of the news." Sally replied.

"Certain? Of what news?" Heero asked settling into one of the couches. The three looked at each other uncomfortably aware of something that they didn't want to say. Heero frowned, his eyes turning dark in light of their response he'd waited three weeks for something to be done about Duo's message and still no word of what was going on. His calls had been ignored or worse, avoided by stating things Heero already _knew_. "What's going on?" Heero demanded in a steely tone.

Wufei looked at the other two, uncertain of how they should continue. They'd come here with the intention of telling Heero something that he obviously wasn't going to enjoy hearing. The news had shocked the three of them as well, but then they didn't have much at stake in this operation other then the wellbeing of Trowa and Quatre. How could they tell Heero, after letting him know what was going on? They had worried over the question the entire flight over to Heero's colony, up the stairs and into his home. They had worried about what would happen and how they would tell Heero the news, now they were worried about what Heero would _do_ when he _heard_ their news.

"I'm getting tired of being jerked around like a little puppet, tell me what you guys came here to tell me or wait until I go back to HQ and rip it out of the first person I meet." Heero replied coldly. Wufei shivered slightly at the sound of Heero's words, he had no doubt that Heero would do just as he promised.

"Don't bother, no one will answer your questions anymore then they would have answered ours three weeks ago." Wufei replied calmly. Heero settled back his eyes trained on Wufei as if trying to bore their way through the Chinese man's head to find the truth beneath it.

"We were left out of the loop for three weeks, even Lady Une was ordered not to converse with us as the operation took place." Sally began.

"Operation? What operation?" Heero interrupted his voice like cold ice.

"It all happened yesterday, Heero . . . we didn't know until it was all over." Relena replied taking a step forward reaching out a hand towards him.

"What's going on?" Heero demanded.

"They did a raid on the colony Duo gave us . . . almost everyone was used in it." Wufei replied folding his arms across his chest. In his eyes, Heero could see the distaste at the words he had spoken and felt the cold reality of it grip him tightly. "It's _over_ Heero, the organization that caused so many problems . . . Calypso and nearly everyone in that place was _dead_ by the time the team got there."


	10. Chapter 10

**All Good Things Must Come to an End**

Disclaimer: I don't own the Gundam Wing Characters so please don't sue me for borrowing them . . . .

**A.C. 202**

'It's over.' It seemed like only yesterday when those words had been spoken; two years had come and gone in what seemed the blink of an eye. There had been survivors to the strange massacre and thankfully Trowa and Quatre had been among them. But none of them could answer the question of what had happened. Their memories, what was left of it, consisted of the last day they spent outside of the organization and would provide no answers. The survivors were sent back to their respective homes and the matter was dropped since none of them could remember anything of importance. After awhile, the problem was forgotten and pushed aside as a case of mass suicide the survivors traumatized to the point where they forgot everything or mostly everything about the organization.

Wufei sighed tiredly as he walked up the steps to Heero's apartment, the lights were on and that in the very least was a good sign. He reached up to knock on the door only to have it swing open on its own.

"Uncle Wufei!"

The sound of Ami's voice echoed in his ears as he looked down to see the small five year old standing in the doorway with a wide smile on her face. Her long brown hair had been cut short since the last time he'd seen her, her blue-purple eyes glowed happily as she stepped back to let him in. He wasn't used to being called 'Uncle' just yet, but seeing the way Ami smiled he couldn't help but allow it.

"Hello Ami, where's you father?" Wufei asked calmly.

"He's in the kitchen, is Auntie Sally and the baby with you?" Ami asked with a slight bounce in her step.

"Not tonight, I just came here to talk to you father maybe some other time?" Wufei replied as he stepped inside. Ami gave a slight nod before leaving the sound of her footsteps faded away until he heard the sound of her door closing. He'd never asked how she knew he was coming, or for that matter how she seemed to know when someone was at the door before they even knocked it was just one of those 'Ami' things that they'd never been able to explain. As he stepped into the kitchen he saw Heero sitting at the table with his laptop in front of him. If the Japanese man had noticed him then he gave no impression of it staring as he did at the screen.

"How long have you been at it tonight?" Wufei sighed as he took the seat across from Heero. Heero glanced over at the clock hanging on the wall and shrugged.

"About two hours . . . how's Sally and the baby?" Heero replied.

"They're fine, Jade is starting to teeth so Sally decided I should come here and check on you." Wufei replied leaning his elbows against the table.

"I don't suppose you're here to help?" Heero asked looking up at Wufei who gave him a dead look in return. "I guess not . . . why are you here then? Ami's in her room she's doing just fine."

"You cut her hair." Wufei replied calmly.

"She wanted it cut."

"Why?"

Heero didn't answer as he leaned back from the laptop to stare across the table at Wufei. The Chinese man knew the reason; he just didn't want to admit it even to himself.

"She looks more like her mother everyday . . . ." Wufei replied looking steadily at Heero.

"I noticed . . . . Did you come here to lecture or point out the obvious?" Heero sighed.

"I came here because the rest of us are worried about you and Ami." Wufei sighed rubbing the back of his neck. "How long are you going to keep this up?"

By 'this' Wufei meant Heero's obsessive search for a woman who obviously didn't want to be found. Duo's body was never recovered among the living or the dead on the day of the raid, and for two years Heero had obsessed over finding some clue as to her whereabouts. Even Wufei had to admit when Duo wanted to disappear . . . she _disappeared_. Heero sighed again running his fingers through his hair; at the very least he didn't look quite as bad as Wufei had suspected he might. The last time the Chinese man had come, Heero had grown a beard and his hair had been at least up to the man's shoulder. Now he looked semi-human as compared to the last time.

"I can't just _give up_. She's out there somewhere . . . I know she is!"

"Even if she _is_ out there . . . why hasn't she contacted you? Did you ever think that maybe she just doesn't want to be foun-." Wufei's words were cut off at the sound of a loud '_You've got mail_' beep coming from Heero's computer. "What is it?" The Chinese man frowned as he leaned forward to get a look at the screen.

Heero shrugged, he wasn't expecting any mail in fact he didn't even realize that he _had_ a mail box. The sound of running feet caught his attention as Ami entered the kitchen with an excited look on her face.

"Open it! Open it!" She squealed in delight leaping onto Heero's lap to stare expectantly at the screen. Heero shrugged in Wufei's direction as he clicked on the blinking mailbox icon a moment later a video message popped up on screen. A weathered old woman sat with a smile on her face as she stared back at them.

"Hello Heero, I know that you don't know who I am and I'd rather keep it that way thank you very much. At this point I don't think it really matters if you know who I am or not, all that matters is that I can help you. I can help you find the one you're looking for, that is . . . if you're willing to find her after everything is done." A slight smile spread across the wrinkled face, "I do hope that you're the one she needs because right now . . . I'm at a loss as to what to do with her. Meet me tomorrow morning at the Moon Colony, the old OZ military base if you don't mind, or what's left of it. I'm certain you remember where it is . . . it wasn't _that _long ago that you boys blew it up after all. And Heero . . . don't be late, an old woman like me can't afford to remain out too long after all."

The transmission ended so suddenly that Heero just stared at the screen for a while before shaking himself loose from its grip. She was alive . . . there was no doubt about it now, after two years of searching Duo was _really_ alive! The feel of Ami's hand in his brought him back to reality as he looked down to see her staring at the screen almost as mesmerized as he had been. Even this slender glimmer of hope was worth seeking out, if it meant that they would see Duo again, if it meant that they could save her.

"I can tell by the look on your face that you're going aren't you?" Wufei's voice brought him back to reality real quick as he looked up to see the other man shaking his head slightly.

"I have to try . . . it's the only lead I've got." Heero answered calmly.

"You can't take Ami there with you." Wufei sighed rubbing the back of his neck. Things were beginning to get complicated and he did not like it when things got complicated. "Sally and I will watch her while you check this report out. I don't expect you to forget to at the very least check in after it's all done right? I don't want to have to worry about you."

"Wufei . . . ." Heero looked at Ami as if seeking permission and the small child offered him a quick hug before sliding off his lap and walking out of the room. "You don't know how much this means to me."

"I have a feeling." Wufei answered calmly, "But you owe me. If Duo's really alive, I'm leaving it up to you to bring her back alive . . . so that in the very least I can kill her for putting me through this hell."

**Moon Colony, Former OZ Military Base**

Black metal, warped by the explosion then frozen by the instant exposure to the freezing pressure of space seemed to make up the majority of the former military bunker. Heero's eyes scanned the empty halls pushing aside the floating debris as slowly and carefully as he could. In the recent years, they'd removed the bodies that had once been trapped beneath the debris pieces of their past lives frozen forever. The memory of being held in the prison cells two floors down was still fresh in his mind despite the years that stood between then and now. In the past he'd been held here as a prisoner of war, now . . . now was different.

"I didn't think you would come." The scratchy sound of the old woman's voice caught his attention as he floated into a small area of the base that was relatively intact. Heero turned to see someone in a space suit floating above him.

"You did say morning didn't you?" He replied calmly.

"Yes . . . I did say morning, although I didn't think you would be _that_ punctual." A soft sigh, "She told me that you were always on time but I didn't believe it, what with you being a man and all . . . . I guess she won the bet this time around."

"Where's Duo?" The question was blunt, but he hadn't come here to chit-chat with someone he didn't even know.

"Impatient, that's the other thing she called you. But then I suppose all young people are impatient, she certainly was when she was younger." A soft chuckle, "Don't fret . . . I promised you answers and I'll give them soon enough."

Heero watched as she pushed off the ceiling and floated gently down beside him, reflexively he caught her in his arms and helped her to stop.

"Heh, I love space it doesn't show just how old I am Mr. Yuy." She laughed quietly as she let go of him. "But as you said, you're here to find Duo not some old lady in a space suit. Ah, to be young and foolish again . . . . Follow me if you please." She floated towards a small opening in the floor and disappeared from sight, after a moment Heero followed doubt beginning to form in his mind.

"Before this place was a military base it was a sight for scientific experiments, did you know that Mr. Yuy?" The old woman chuckled.

"It was meant to solve the problems of pregnancy in space; after the colonies were built a majority of children were born as test-tube babies. It was discovered that while in space females were affected differently then males and this caused a tremendous amount of stress which caused the death of countless fetuses. The problem was solved naturally after a few points of trial and error." Heero replied calmly.

"Trust in the human body to come up with a solution on its own." She remarked sarcastically coming to a stop in front of a sealed door, "It put an end to the research here, but not in time to stop the process."

Heero's eyes narrowed slightly as he floated to a stop beside her. He could see her face through the space suit, could see the weathered lines of age on her cheeks but most of all he could see the tears rolling down them.

"It had already begun you see . . . we'd lost a few in the process but eventually we were able to perfect it. Four growing babies, inside four of our lab mothers, each one of them a hope for a better future." A slight smile, "I was one of those lab mothers, you can't possibly understand the joy one goes through when life grows inside of you."

"What happened?" Heero asked.

"The project was . . . canceled, we were ordered to destroy all evidence of it ever having existed." A bitter chuckle, "Can you imagine? Just like that, and the babies weren't needed anymore and we were to be left with nothing. We couldn't let them do that . . . not after everything we'd sacrificed. So we staged the data, made it look like the fetuses had ceased to exist." She pulled for the pocket of her space suit a small card key.

"You see Mr. Yuy, in the process of creating these children . . . we as mothers had discovered something rather . . . _amazing_ about our unborn children. They were _very_ much aware of the world outside, and very much afraid of death, all except one . . . it was the strangest thing I'd ever felt before." She patted her belly as if experiencing that wonder all over again, "The baby inside of me accepted the concept of death, she wasn't afraid of it . . . not the way the others were, in fact she understood it better then I thought any child should."

"That baby . . . was . . . ."

"I named her Gen, but I believe that you know her as Duo."

She slid the key into a small slot at the side of the door and the lights flickered on much to Heero's amazement. The door slid open sluggishly before them as power coursed weakly though the room.

"OZ never could figure out how to open this door . . . I suppose I did make it hard for them so they simply cut the power leading to the room and forgot it even existed." She whispered as she stepped inside. "Well, don't be a nervous goose; I don't intend to leave the door open for you that long Mr. Yuy."

Heero shook his head as he stepped through the doorway, a slight tingling sensation spread through his body as he did and suddenly he wasn't floating anymore.

"I stabilized the gravity here, there's also fresh air flowing through those vents so you don't have to worry about oxygen." She replied.

Heero watched her unconvinced as she removed her helmet, a full head of chestnut brown mixed with strands of gray colored hair fell loose from the helmet. As she turned to face him he noticed that her eyes were a light purple in color, and that slight smile reminded him steadily of Duo as he slowly removed his helmet.

"Where are we?" He asked looking around at the well-lit room. A series of computer monitors crowded one area while a bunch of beds crowded the other side. It was obvious that someone had been living in the small confines for quite some time now.

"My sanctuary, this is the one part of the lab that OZ couldn't gain access to thanks to my efforts." A slight sigh as she settled into a chair located in the center of the room, "I don't suppose you want to know who I am?"

The thought had occurred to Heero, but after hearing her story he wasn't certain if he desired to really know.

"My name, Mr. Yuy is Jennifer."

"She's stubborn, prideful and a complete pain in the ass is who she is."

Heero turned at the sound of _that_ voice, a pair of cobalt blue eyes glared back at him from behind a curtain of loose chestnut brown hair. Duo stepped out of a small room located on the left side, apparently it was a bathroom. Ignoring Heero's presence wasn't easy, but Duo would manage as she turned her angry gaze upon the old woman sitting before her.

"Why is _he_ here?!"

"Now, now Gen . . . you shouldn't shout at an old lady, it's not proper."

"_Proper_?! I oughta ring your neck for bringing him here! I told you I don't want him here!"

"You're mouth said one thing and your heart says another." Jennifer sighed, "I can't believe this boy has been looking for you all this time and you still refuse to speak to him. Where did I go wrong as a mother?"

Duo's jaw tightened at the word, "Stop that . . . damn it couldn't you have waited a little longer to contact him?"

"You've kept this poor boy waiting for seven years; I don't see how much longer you intend to make him wait."

"How about forever?"

"And what about my grandchild? How long am I supposed to wait before I get to see Ami?"

Duo bit her lip at the name, tears formed in her eyes as she thought about the small angel she had so viciously pushed away. How could she look at Ami again without remembering the pain she'd caused her precious one?

"She misses you." The sound of Heero's voice broke through the confusion which surrounded her at that moment. Duo looked over at Heero brushing the tears from her eyes.

"She does?"

Heero reached into his suit to pull out a small photo from his shirt pocket and held it out for her to see.

"You cut her hair?" Duo whispered as she took the photo carefully in her hands.

"Well . . . actually _she_ did that . . . the story is that she was playing barber with her dolls and it kind of went downhill from there." Heero fidgeted he'd never actually told anyone the truth of Ami's haircut, everyone had always assumed it was because Ami resembled Duo so much that it hurt. To be honest, Heero had asked the hair stylist if she could possibly force the hair to grow so that it would remain the same length. The woman had looked at Heero as if he had grown a second head.

A soft smile spread across Duo's face, "I was afraid she might do something like that when she was little so I kept the scissors far away from her."

"I tried that . . . she used the safety scissors I bought for her first day of school."

"School . . . how is she doing in school?" Duo whispered.

"Great, they'd let her skip two grades so she's in second right now." Heero shrugged slightly.

"That's great! That's really great, I knew she was smart."

"Sally and Wufei have a baby now, a little girl named Jade." Heero replied awkwardly.

"Really? I never believed Wufei would have a girl . . . I suppose it's a good start though, what about Trowa . . . and Quatre?"

"They're fine, no troubles so far as we know." Heero shrugged, "They can't remember anything that happened to them while they were captured."

"I told you that it would work out." A new voice interrupted the silence and Heero turned to see a red haired woman sitting up on one of the beds. Duo glared at the woman folding her arms across her chest. "Come now . . . are you really going to keep holding that grudge against me? Old habits die hard and I didn't want him to know I was here until you were certain of the truth."

"That's inexcusable Karen, you promised me not to do that anymore." Duo replied, "And the same goes to you as well Calypso! Stop hiding already and show yourself."

Heero blinked in surprise as a second woman appeared, also with dark red hair wearing a pair of glasses. He had heard the name but it was a bit too hard to believe.

"Reports of my demise have been greatly exaggerated Mr. Yuy." Calypso replied with a tired sigh.

I know that it's taken a while and I'd like to thank my readers for being paitient with my slowness. I hope you enjoy this latest enstallment of Truth!


	11. Chapter 11

**Mirage**

Disclaimer: I don't own the Gundam Wing Characters so please don't sue me for borrowing them . . .

The soft sound of raindrops hitting the windowpane resounded in her mind as she stared up at the dark ceiling. The soft bed beneath her back, the smell of recently cleaned sheets and the sound of the rain falling on the streets outside none of it seemed real. Ami sighed as she pushed herself upright and looked around at her surroundings. The room was not small, but rather medium sized, it was plain colored with a bed, a side table, and a computer desk pushed into the corner, a single window peered out into the dark streets. All in all, it was an average guest room, the kind she would expect whenever she was made to stay at another's home. Except for the occasional noise of baby Jade, the house was relatively quiet during all hours of the night. She missed the sound of constant noise, the sound of her dad's fingers tapping furiously against the keyboard, the occasional sound of his voice, the comforting look in his eyes whenever he turned his gaze in her direction. She knew that her very existence was painful to him, a constant reminder of the one person he failed to protect, but he had never done anything but love her for who she was not who she reminded him of.

_Daddy . . . come home soon . . . ._

**Moon Colony**

"You left my daughter with _Wufei_?!" Duo balked as she dropped the plate in her hands and turned to stare in Heero's direction.

For all intents and purposes, Jennifer had decided that they would have dinner first and questions later. Not that it mattered much to Duo what happened first, in truth she just wanted this nightmare to be over. It felt more as if the world had collapsed beneath her from the moment she had spotted Heero standing beside the older woman. The look on Heero's face when he had come face to face with Calypso, the infamous Calypso had been priceless and she did not doubt that the former soldier was curious to know why they were together. She wondered if perhaps he was suspicious that maybe they were plotting to kill once more? A slight smile spread across her face at the thought but she would not put it past the man to think of _every_ possibility. _Too bad he doesn't know the truth._ She sighed as she finished cleaning off the last of the dishes leaving them in the drainer to dry.

The best part, she had to admit, was when she had introduced the fourth child to Heero. Certainly the blue-eyed man had not expected to meet Kira, an albino woman of medium build with a pair of cobalt – almost purple colored eyes and pale white hair. Duo chuckled at the memory; she supposed that for most people meeting Kira for the first time was always a surprise after all the last albino born in human history had been over fifty years ago. Since then many things had long since been breed out of the Human race, the hair color red for instance was rarer now then it had been a thousand years ago. The fact that all four of the experimental children were unique in more ways then the color of their skin, hair, or eyes, was a little known fact to anyone outside of the former organization and only one member remained alive to this day who could possibly identify them for what they really were. Only one . . . Duo sighed, the smile disappearing from her face as she thought about all that had happened in recent years.

"Is something wrong?" Heero's voice snapped her back to the present. As she turned her gaze towards him a sharp stabbing pain in her chest erupted and she had to look away rather then answer his tender question. A hand brushed against the side of her face and she tried hard not to flinch at the feel of such a tender caress.

"Don't touch me!" Duo snapped taking a step back from him, her eyes blazing angrily as she glared up at him. "Don't touch me . . . ." She repeated slowly as she turned and walked away. She could stand the reality that Heero was there with them, but she did not have to tolerate anything other then that.

"Ahh . . . a lover's spat." The sound of Calypso's voice jerked Duo back as she spotted the red-haired woman standing in the kitchen doorway.

"Mind your own business." Duo whispered through clinched teeth as she pushed past the other woman.

Calypso reached out and gently touched Duo's arm, but it was enough to compel her to stop and look back at the woman who smiled just ever so slightly as she leaned in to whisper something into Duo's ear. Duo sneered as she jerked her arm from Calypso's grip and continued on her way out of the kitchen mumbling under her breath. Calypso turned to regard Heero, who stood with his hands practically strapped to his sides, those deep blue eyes of his burning in rage as he stared back at her. The smile never left Calypso's face as she moved closer, her body swaying slightly as she approached.

"For someone who's entire life has revolved around finding that particular woman . . . you sure seem eager to let her walk _out_ of your life." Calypso replied in a silky voice.

"That isn't true." Heero replied through clenched teeth.

"Really? Was that not Duo I just watched walking _out_ of the kitchen?" Calypso mocked as she moved past Heero, "I must have been mistaken then . . . ."

Heero grunted as he turned to watch Calypso, the woman smiled up at him as she laced her arm around her back, leaning back on one leg as she looked back at him. From the moment the two had met, it seemed as if they had started to butt heads. It was obvious that Duo wasn't the _only_ person not at all pleased by Heero's appearance. The look in Calypso's eyes turned frosty as she leaned closer to him and placed one finger against his chest.

"I suggest you_leave_, none of us need you here! We've done just fine on our own, we don't need you or anyone else butting in on our lives!" Calypso replied in an icy tone that seemed to freeze the very air in the room. For a split second, Heero felt the urge to suddenly leave, to walk out without looking back, but the second quickly passed as he straightened and glared down at Calypso.

"I'm not leaving without Duo." Heero replied in an icy tone that put Calypso's tone to shame. A look of shock spread across Calypso's face as she shrank backwards pulling her hand away as if it had been burned.

"Calypso!" The sound of Karen's voice broke the tension between the two as the other woman stepped between them her eyes glaring up at Heero the way a mother stared down someone bullying their child.

"Karen!" Calypso whined as she grabbed hold of the other woman the way a drowning person grabbed onto a float.

"I think that you two have had enough _fun_ . . . ." A third voice dropped the room temperature even further if possible, and Heero turned to see Kira, the albino woman, standing in the open doorway her eyes trained on the two woman huddling together behind Heero. "Go back to bed; we will talk about this _later_." The look in Kira's eyes promised more then a talk in Heero's opinion but the two women complied without putting up a single protest. Sulking past Heero, Calypso cast one last glance over her shoulder before the two disappeared from the room.

Heero stared at Kira, his gaze calmer now that they were the only two in the room. For some reason, after he had gotten over the shock of seeing an Albino, Heero felt that Kira and he were very much alike.

"Sorry." Heero whispered his head hanging slightly as he rubbed his forehead tiredly, "I don't know what came over me."

"I do." Kira replied calmly as she folded her arms across her chest, "Love is a very tragic thing . . . I don't know why humans bother to pursue it."

Heero smiled slightly at the words, they seemed to be referring to him in particular but perhaps . . . he just couldn't help but be foolish just this once. "I guess you're right . . . ." He chuckled as he spoke, "Love does make people miserable sometimes . . . but then there are times when . . . when it just _feels_ right."

Kira frowned, tilting her head to the side as she looked at Heero, "Then why bother?"

"Because . . . because sometimes . . . humans just don't want to be lonely . . . they want someone there for them. Someone who knows, who understands what they're going through. Being alone is rather . . . final when you think about it."

"But even lovers lie to each other." Kira responded.

"Yes . . . but being in love means looking _past_ all that . . . when you're in love . . . it's just hard to explain sometimes. I trust Duo."

"But if you trust her, then why did you pursue her so harshly?" Kira asked calmly. Heero blinked as he looked up at her; for once . . . Heero found that he had no answer. For so long he had pursued Duo without question, without even thinking about it . . . he had just gone after her with every fiber of his being. Never, _never_ had the idea that maybe Duo didn't want him occur to him . . . for so long he had pursued her but was he right to do so? Was what he was doing wrong?

_It's all a mirage . . . none of it's real._ Heero felt the world tilt as the words struck him hard in the face, reality slipping from his grip as he found himself floating in darkness. _None of this is real . . . it's nothing but a mirage . . . ._ Heero felt a bitter cold settle over his chest as he stared around at the darkness.

Suddenly the sound of sweet laughter faded in and out of existence, echoing from everywhere and nowhere at the same time. _I know that voice . . . ._ He moved – or did he? – towards the sound searching for the source with a desperation that was unlike any he had ever experienced before. Slowly, the darkness began to recede the further in he moved until the world around him became so bright it was almost surreal.

He blinked as the sunlight blazed down on him; he could feel the force of it pressing down around him almost tangible. The sound of laughter continued and he turned to follow the sound of it. A small child stared back at him from beneath a wreath of long deep brown hair, the world felt tilted at that point as he stared into that sweet face. Only then did he realize that he was lying on the ground staring _up_ at the little girl.

"Hello . . . who are you?" A soft familiar voice danced in his head as he stared up at the girl. A memory of this person flickered into view but quickly faded away as swiftly as it had come as he looked up at this odd little child. A frown appeared on the small face and the girl straightened placing her hands on her hips, "_Well_?! You know it's _rude_ to stare at people!"

He blinked as he pushed himself upright, the world felt somewhat bigger now that he looked around him. He recognized the buildings around them and knew that he was somewhere in one of the colonies, but he could not remember _where_. The artificial sky stretching out above him, the artificial sunlight . . . everything looked so familiar but he could not recall where he was.

"_Hello!!!_" The girl's voice brought him back and he turned his head to stare at her. She wore a bright yellow sundress, her long brown hair pinned back but stray strands of it fell to form a dark wreath around her round face. A pair of cobalt blue eyes stared back at him as she knelt at his side and placed her hand against his forehead. "Are you sick?"

"No . . . ." He replied, unable to take his eyes from hers.

"Then can't you tell me what your name is?" A smile spread across her face as she asked and he felt his heart skip a beat.

"My name . . . ?" He frowned picking at his mixed up memories searching for his name, "My name is Heero . . . Heero Yuy." He finally answered.

"Really? That's a funny name." She giggled hiding her smile behind her hands, "My name is Duo . . . Duo Maxwell, and it's nice to meet you Heero Yuy."

"Hello . . . Duo." Heero answered allowing a smile to spread across his face. For one moment he felt as if he should know this girl, as if something wasn't right but the moment quickly faded away.

"Wanna play with me?" Duo asked reaching out to grab hold of his hand.

"Sure!" Heero answered.

_It's not real . . . none of this is real!_ The voice echoed in the back of his mind and he jerked slightly from the sound of it clamping his hands over his ears as if the sound were tangible.

"Does your head hurt?" Duo's voice broke through the pain as she placed a hand over his head again.

"Sort of . . . but it's all better now . . . let's go play!" Heero answered taking hold of her hand as he got to his feet.

Duo smiled as she stared back at the little boy and the two of them started away together, hand in hand.

_It's not real . . . none of this is real!_ She pushed aside the voice easily. She knew that none of it was real . . . she knew that this was all a mirage, that this was Kira's world and nothing inside of it was truly _real_, but right now . . . right now that didn't matter. She wanted nothing more then to live in this world . . . if only for a few moments longer. Maybe . . . eventually the two of them would walk out of this world together. _Isn't that what you want . . . Kira?_ She looked up at the artificial sky and smiled slightly.

Sorry I was reading over it and thought up something even better . . . hope you like the reposted story! Please send R+R I greatly appreciate it!


	12. Chapter 12

**Return**

Disclaimer: I don't own the Gundam Wing Characters so please don't sue me for borrowing them . . . The song is S.O.S by Good Charlotte, so like G-Wing it does not belong to me so please forgive me for borrowing them!!

_It's not real . . . none of this is real!_ The voice echoed in her mind as she sat bolt upright in her bed, sweat trickled down her face as she stared around her at the darkness. The soft pitter-patter of raindrops hitting the window echoed once more in her mind as she took deep breaths trying to calm her racing heart. The sound of footsteps pounding against the floor caught her attention just as the door to the guest room slammed open and a hand reached out to flick on the light switch on the wall. 

"Ami is something wrong?!" Sally's voice called out as the older woman pushed past Wufei to get inside the room, the Chinese man appeared frazzled as he scanned the room as if expecting something dangerous to come leaping out of non-existent shadows. Only then did she realize that she had screamed, Ami felt the blood rush to her face as she tried to explain away the feeling growing in her chest.

"I'm okay Auntie Sally . . . really . . . I am, it was just a dream and dreams can't hurt me." A smile bloomed across her face as she looked up into Sally's worried eyes. "Don't worry . . . I'm sorry if I woke you, I'll try not to disturb you anymore."

"It's okay Ami . . . don't be afraid to talk to us okay?" Sally smiled weakly as she reached out and touched Ami on the shoulder, "Wufei and I are just down the hall you know that right?"

"I know." She smiled again, "Don't worry about me Auntie Sally; I can take care of myself."

A sad look crossed Sally's face as she looked down at the young girl; it had always felt odd to her how well Ami took to things. The calm way in which she had accepted things as if none of it really mattered, she took things with an unusual amount of maturity for one so young. Tonight was no different. _She even explained her nightmare the way an adult would to a young child._ Strangest of all was Ami's eyes, Sally had never before seen a pair of eyes with such an intense gaze behind them, as if they were staring through you not at you.

"Is something wrong Aunt Sally?"

The question startled Sally out of her reprieve and she smiled down at the young child, "Nothing at all Ami . . . just get some rest, it's been a long day after all. We might even get a call from Heero tomorrow!"

At the mention of her father's name Ami turned her gaze towards the window and a blank look took over her face, "No . . . he's not coming back, him _or_ mommy . . . ." She whispered softly as she stared at the beads of water forming against the outside of the window.

"What makes you think that?" Wufei's voice made Ami turn to look back at the Chinese man.

"Uncle Wufei?" Ami tilted her head to the side as she spoke.

"Heero and Duo are a lot stronger then anyone gives them credit for . . . even when Duo was posing as a man she was strong." Wufei walked over to Ami and reached out to touch her head. "Trust in your parents . . . they_will_ return for you."

"How do you know that Uncle Wufei?"

"Because . . . ," Wufei smiled slightly as he spoke, "Your parents are the most_stubborn_ people I have ever known. And . . . they know what it means to be abandoned . . . they would never put their child through that."

A smile bloomed across the young girl's face and she reached out to give Wufei a hug.

"Thank you . . . Uncle Wufei."

As the two of them left the room Sally smiled at Wufei.

"What?" Wufei blinked feeling uncomfortable beneath her gaze.

"I think you're going to make a great father, Wufei . . . ." Sally sighed as she wrapped her arms around the Chinese man.

"Hmph . . . of course I am, what kind of person did you think I was?" Wufei sniffed returning her embrace, "Now if I could only slap the same amount of sense into Heero _and_ Duo's head." Sally smiled at the words; she knew deep down that this man was more worried then angry at his two friends. Like she, Wufei only wanted to see a happy ending to this sad little tale of tragic lovers.

_Is anybody listening?_

_Can they hear me when I call?_

_I'm shooting signals in the air_

_'Cause I need somebody's help_

_I can't make it on my own_

_So I'm giving up myself_

_Is anybody listening?_

_Listening . . ._

Clouds passed by overhead as he stared up at the buildings seemingly floating above his head, in the back of his mind he knew he was fully capable of explaining the colonies rotational effects which made certain buildings look like they were upside down. For now . . . for now it was fun to just imagine that the buildings were floating among the clouds and not tied down by artificial gravity as he knew that they were.

"That one looks like a bunny!" The sound of her voice echoed in his mind as a hand appeared in his vision pointing at one of the clouds floating overhead.

"A bunny?" He laughed tilting his head to the side a bit as he spoke. "I don't see it."

"The one with the fluffy body, right there," The hand shook excitedly as she tried to point it out, "With the two buildings sticking out above it . . . see it? The buildings are the ears and the fluffy body is the bunny's body."

"But where's its head?" He asked with a chuckle, he spotted the cloud easily floating directly overhead casting a shadow down around the two of them.

"It's there!" She emphasized in a sulky voice.

"Really? I don't see it." He joked cheerfully.

"Liar!" She replied.

He felt rather then saw her sit upright and he flipped onto his stomach to see what was wrong. Lately it seemed as if his newfound friend was feeling sulkier and sulkier then before as if something was bothering her.

"What's wrong Duo?" He asked pushing himself onto his knees as he looked at her back.

A soft breeze pulled lightly at the long strands of hair which fell behind her.

"Nothing . . . ." She whispered softly as she got to her feet, "I'm just tired . . . maybe we should go home now."

He frowned slightly at her words, getting to his feet beside her. A feeling of dread filled his heart at the idea of going home though he didn't know why.

_I've been stranded here and I'm miles away_

_Making signals hoping they'd save me_

_I lock myself inside these walls_

_'Cause out there I'm always wrong_

_I don't think I'm gonna make it_

_So while I'm sitting here_

_On the eve of my defeat_

_I'll write this letter and hope it saves me_

"Go home? But . . . why?" He asked feeling as if his world was slowly crumbling beneath him. He didn't want to leave yet . . . he wanted to stay here forever with Duo!

"We can't stay here Heero . . . we have to go _home_!" She replied sternly turning to face him, her arms folded across her chest.

Somehow he felt that . . . if he went 'home' he would never see her again. He didn't want that to happen, he didn't want to leave without her.

"I . . . I don't want to go home! Please don't leave me again!" He cried out pulling her close to him, holding her tightly as if she were a cloud about to float away forever.

"Heero . . . ."

"Don't leave me again . . . I'm . . . I just want to stay here with you . . . forever." He whispered into her hair holding her close to him as if he was drowning and she was the only thing that was able to save him.

"Heero . . . I won't leave you . . . I promise . . . I'll always be there for you."

_Is anybody listening?_

_Can they hear me when I call?_

_Shooting signals in the air_

_'Cause I need somebody's help_

_I can't make it on my own_

_So I'm giving up myself_

_Is anybody listening?_

_Listening . . ._

_I'm stuck in my own head and I'm oceans away_

_Would anybody notice if I chose to stay?_

_I'll send an SOS tonight_

_Wonder if I will survive_

_How in the hell did I get so far away this time_

_So now I'm sitting here_

_The time of my departure's near_

_I say a prayer_

_Please someone save me_

"Heero . . . we can't stay here." Duo whispered softly as she pulled away from the embrace, tears formed on her face as she saw the look on his. That desperate look that made her heart feel as if it were melting.

"I don't want you to leave me again." He replied tears swelling up inside. "I'm not strong enough to . . . to . . . ." He stopped with a slight frown as he reached out for the memory but could not get a hold of it as readily as he wished to.

"Not strong enough for what . . . Heero?" She asked reaching out to cup her hands around his face.

"Not strong enough to . . . not strong enough to . . . ." Why couldn't he grasp that memory? Whenever he tried to reach out for it, it would slip out of his grip. "I . . . I can't remember . . . ." He looked up at Duo his eyes wide at the notion that he could not remember something. A pair of soft cobalt blue eyes stared back at him sadly.

"That's why we have to go home . . . ." She whispered, "I promise . . . I promise that I won't leave you again . . . I promise you Heero."

"Promise . . . me . . . ?"

"I promise . . . I swear that we'll go home together." She answered tenderly.

_Is anybody listening?_

_Can they hear me when I call?_

_Shooting signals in the air_

_'Cause I need somebody's help_

_I can't make it on my own_

_So I'm giving up myself_

_Is anybody listening?_

_Listening_

_I'm lost here_

_I can't make it on my own_

_I don't wanna die alone_

_I'm so scared_

_Drowning now_

_Reaching out_

_Holding on to everything I know_

_Crying out_

_Dying now_

_Need some help_

" . . . Shuttle 902, you are cleared to land . . . ."

"Roger that tower . . . Shuttle 902 coming in nice and smooth."

Familiar voices faded in around him as he opened his eyes to stare up at the ceiling of a shuttlecraft, more importantly the shuttlecraft he had borrowed from Quatre's depot in order to find . . . .

Heero snapped upright ignoring the sudden spinning sensation which clouded his vision for the split second it took for him to realize he'd probably been asleep for quite a while. The sound of approaching footsteps caught his attention and he looked up to see a pair of soft cobalt blue eyes staring down at him.

"You're finally awake." A smile spread across that oh-so-familiar face and he felt his heart skip a beat as he stared up at Duo. "We've reached Quatre's colony, the other's are already here, would you believe that?" Duo chuckled somewhat nervously, "Wufei, Sally, Trowa, Catherine, Quatre, even Dorothy showed up to see us come in, Wufei and Sally brought their baby, I can't wait to see her, you said her name was Jade right? I hope she doesn't look like Wufei." Duo's face crinkled slightly as she spoke, "Relena, and even Noin and Zechs are making an un-expected visit."

Heero reached out to take hold of her arm stopping her tirade in mid-sentence as he pulled her down to him. Their lips closed the distance left between them as the two embraced the way lovers embraced each other after a _long_ time apart.

"Ami should be there too . . . I wonder how she's doing . . . ." Duo whispered when they had finally pulled apart.

"Don't worry . . . I'm sure she's just going to be excited to see her mommy again."

"But . . . ." Heero placed his hand over her mouth to stop the words of doubt from springing forth.

"You are her _mother_, whatever you did before was to _protect_ her, that's no different from what I probably would have done in your shoes." He replied sternly wiping away any doubt from her mind. "She needs you . . . _I_ need you."

Duo smiled slightly at the words as she nodded pulling Heero's hand from her lips to hold it against her face.

"Promise?"

Heero returned the smile, pulling her close to give her a tender kiss against the forehead.

"I promise."

_Is anybody listening?_

_Can you hear me when I call?_

_Shooting signals in the air_

_I need somebody's help_

_I can't make it on my own_

_So I'm giving up myself_

_Is anybody listening?_


End file.
